Sojourn
by JadeHeart
Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.
1. Part 1: Breakout Chapter 1

Title: Sojourn: Part 1 - Breakout

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Warnings: mild violence/death

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra is mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

Author's Notes:** This is merely some thoughts about what could have been after the final of Blake's 7**.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Part One: Breakout

Chapter 1

The silence was like a blanket; deep, dark, smothering. There was no time here; no night or day, no up or down. Just the darkness encompassing everything. The three moons overhead shed little light on the planet below, the depth of the night swallowing up their feeble illumination.

The surface of the planet was almost a uniform flatness, the barrenness broken only by small clumps of foliage. The trees and bushes were stunted and twisted, barely able to gather enough nourishment to survive. They reached tortured limbs to the unrelenting night sky as though pleading for release. Vines tangled and draped over the branches as though they strove to strangle what little life was left in their fellow vegetation.

A hot wind constantly blew across the surface, never ceasing, only the intensity changing from mild breeze to howling hurricane. It picked up the loose sand to swirl it around in an intricate dance to later deposit it elsewhere. Sand dunes were continuously creeping across the planet's surface, following no particular pattern, appearing and disappearing over night. They would creep forward to smother a patch of struggling vegetation and when all life had fled they would move on. But the vegetation was cunning and adapted to such conditions. After the sand had moved on, slowly the vines would reappear, pushing upwards through the soil, refusing to accept destruction, to reach the surface and continue to live.

From space the planet appeared yellow, refraction of light upon the sand colouring its surface. There was no water present on the surface. What little the planet had, was hidden somewhere in its depths. Upon looking at this planet, it would appear that few life forms could survive here. In the darkness of the night, only the shifting of the sand would sometimes denote a stirring of life. The life forms that had evolved tended on this blighted landscape tended to be burrowing species, living out their lives under the sand, feeding off the plants from the roots upwards. Most were nocturnal and never saw the light of day. The only movement during the day came from the one unnatural phenomena upon its surface - a man-made structure.

The group of buildings, surrounded by two encompassing walls, was like a blot upon this landscape of bleakness. But over the years, it too had now almost become a part of the planet's topography. No lights shone from the cluster of buildings at night, grouped inside the inner wall, there was no stirring of life to break the stillness. The night enveloped it along with everything else on the surface.

The buildings stood two stories high; large rectangular shapes. There were ten of them bundled closely together. Dotted around these were a number of smaller structures squarer in shape. The ground around them and up to the first wall was barren, matching the rest of this planet.

The first wall was six feet thick - solid, impregnable. Five hundred metres outwards there rose the second wall. Twice as thick again and made from solid hydrocarbonite-titanium. It was an experimental alloy that had proved exceptionally strong, forming the second impregnable barrier. Both walls rose to a height of twenty feet, towering over the surrounding countryside. Folding over it all was a force field, a barrier to keep everything out and everything else in. Invisible, solid, impenetrable and ever present, dampening the light even further.

The vegetation had tried to encroach upon this man-made installation but the inhabitants had ruthlessly burnt it back, leaving a barren swathe fifty feet wide between the exterior wall and the outside world. The low foliage soon learnt not to try to breach this barrier except for a few of the more adventurous and hardy strains that made a meagre living at the base of the perimeter wall.

The buildings housed 1,000 inhabitants, providing the bare necessities for life to continue. Penal Colony Sutara was a maximum security prison. Only the most dangerous, the most vicious, the most violent prisoners were sent here to eke out the rest of their miserable lives - however short that may be. Few even knew of the prison colony outside of these walls, except by rumour and myth. Like most, none had ever escaped from there. Many had tried, but none had lived to tell if they came close to succeeding. For to even attempt escape meant termination. Sutara was a harsh world, living by harsh laws and the inhabitants lived and more often than not, died by those laws.

A hot wind stirred the vines clinging to the base of the perimeter wall on the eastern side. They were rooted firmly into the soil and any tiny chinks forced under the wall, searching for the ever elusive moisture. An old forgotten drain was somewhere below, a conduit leading from the interior carrying the waste to the exterior before treatment plants were installed. Covered by vines, rusted, forgotten by most and ignored by the rest; only a simple grating being evidence of its presence to the outside world, hidden by the clinging vines. The plants stirred again, although the wind had dropped. A very faint clicking could be heard if you put your ear to the ground. Very faint.

Yes, Sutara was a bad place to be. Vila had certainly seen better.

He pushed his sweat soaked hair from his brow, shifting his position slightly to ease cramped limbs. The past three years had seen his prison hair-cut grow out and more grey was present. His pale skin showed new lines on his face - from age, worry and fear. But his fingers still knew their trade. He was lying flat on his stomach in the cloying filth, straining his arms to try and reach the lock on the grate, with barely enough room to roll over. The foul odours of excrement filled his nostrils causing him to feel nauseous, something he was trying hard to ignore. Patiently he began again, using his purloined sliver of metal to pick at the decrepit locking mechanism.

"Come on, come on, you stupid lock!" he muttered to himself, the passing minutes weighing heavily on his mind. "When was the last time you were opened? You're tighter than a virgin's chastity belt! Come on! I don't have all night!"

In frustration he hit his balled fist against the metal and bit back a yelp of pain. He lay still in terror for a moment, fearful that he may have been heard and would be discovered. Guards still regularly patrolled the outer perimeter. He closed his eyes and muttered a prayer.

"Please, please, let me get out of this. Just let me get out of here. I'll be good. I'll turn over a new leaf, start again. I promise. I'll do all the right things. I won't even kill anyone." He opened his eyes. "Come to think of it, I don't think I ever have. At least not intentionally."

He shook his head, then turned back to the lock and began once more. "Just when you want a thermal lance you don't have one!" he muttered under his breath. "A lance would make spaghetti of this grate. You hear that? It'd be 'pasta la vista' for you! You're just being difficult because you know I don't have one, otherwise you would have opened by now. Or one of those grenades of Dayna's. Anything would do."

Whilst he kept up this monologue his deft fingers continued to twist and turn his lock-pick. Nimble fingers were waiting to respond to any vibrations sensed through the metal. In this modern age few thieves had retained the old ways - relying more on the available technology of the era. Few were as accomplished as Vila.

"I'm just about to give up, you know." he continued muttering darkly. "What am I even trying for? If I get caught I'm dead. That would be rather hazardous to my health, you know. Terminally so. This place isn't really so bad. I've seen worse - Cygnus Alpha for one." He shuddered at the thought.

"We've got plenty of sunshine. Okay, so you can't go out in it for eight hours of the day as it reaches 150 degrees in the shade. Shade? What shade? The only shade is from the cells. But they do give you three meals a day. It's usually the same meal and it all tastes the same, reconstituted nutrients, but at least they do feed you. You can live on that. I'm not a fussy eater. Although I do miss wine." He looked wistful for a moment, before continuing his soliloquy.

"And they clothe you, can't complain about that. It may be all one size and a uniform shade of murky grey, but, hey, beggars can't be choosers. Or, in this case, prisoners. It's still clothing. Better than being naked.

"And I've got people to talk to when I want to. So what if they're all psychopaths and maniacs. I've met worse - Avon for one. At least they've lead varied and interesting lives. They haven't all just been involved in the rebellion, trying to save the galaxy. It gives more scope to the conversation. It's really not so bad here."

Just then a faint click came to his ear and a tiny vibration travelled from the metal to his fingertips, tingling its way up his arm. A smile creased his face as he gently, oh so gently, pushed the grate up a few inches.

"Then again," he said to himself. "I think I'd like a change of scenery."

Vila raised his head from the meagre cover to check if it was clear. He wriggled his way out of the drain, grunting and groaning as he forced his stiff body through the tight space, not daring to raise the grating any higher and disturb the vegetation any more than he had to. If he did it would bound to be noticed by the next patrol. Things remained so constant on Sutara that the slightest thing out of place would be investigated immediately. Three years of hardship had slimmed him down. He would never have been able to enter the drain in the first place if he had remained the size he was when he had first arrived on Sutara.

Now was the hardest part. He had only four hours to reach his next destination, that being the landing platform. As this was a prison planet, there was no regular space traffic. Over the past three years Vila had watched, listened and noted everything that had gone on, every change in routine. Eventually he had come to notice that supplies arrived at a particular time - every six months. As confirmation he had overheard part of a conversation between two Federation guards. From that he learnt that the landing platform was two hours south west of the prison complex, by land-crawler. This was the night the supply freighter would arrive. If he missed it he would have to wait another six months. That's if he was still alive. If he missed the freighter he would have to try and make it back to the complex before being missed by anyone - guards and prisoners alike. But he didn't want to go back. He wanted to get away from this god-benighted planet. Far away.

After waiting a moment he detected no sound to break the silence and so, taking a deep breath to try and calm his nerves, he took off at a run across the sand. As he ran the long piece of cloth tucked into the back of his trousers and trailing behind him obscured his tracks and he wrapped another cloth over his nose and mouth to keep the sand out when the wind picked up. At the moment it was just a slight breeze but that was bound to change.

He kept on running, pushing himself onwards, using the moons as a guide. When he became too winded to run any further, he slowed to a walk. He held his side to try and ease a stitch and his breath came in gasps. He finally stopped for a moment, leaning over to rest his hands on his knees and hanging his head. His chest ached from the exertion, the blood pounded in his ears and his legs quivered in exhaustion. He had never been an active person, and the past three years had hardly provided him with the opportunity to prepare himself for this run. He desperately wanted to sit down and rest but knew if he did he would find it very difficult to get going again. He straightened up and stretched his back, filling his lungs. He had to keep going, this was his only chance.

A new glimmer of brightness in the sky caught his eye. He watched its downward movement as it came closer to the planet's surface. The freighter, he thought. It's the freighter! They'll begin loading as soon as they land, only about an hours worth and then they'll be gone! He took a deep breath to fill his aching lungs. He had to reach that ship! So fixing his eye upon that distant spot he set off running again.

So intent was he on reaching his destination that he failed to see the lee side of the dune and tumbled down the slope, head over heels. He got up, shaken, sand falling from the folds in his clothes. Some had got inside and he could feel it scratching against his skin. Fortunately the cloth over his face had protected him so he hadn't ended up with a mouthful of sand. Shaking his head to clear it, he gathered his bearings and began again. He kept running despite the fact that his body was screaming at him to stop, to rest. The lights he could now see in the distance were becoming brighter, closer, spurring him on. He was getting nearer to his goal.

By the time he reached the perimeter the wind was blowing strongly, whipping the sand around in a storm. He could barely see a foot in front of him and could hardly raise a stagger. He collapsed in the dubious shelter of some foliage, surveying the scene before him. Now that he had got here he wasn't sure how to proceed. In all honesty he had never expected to actually reach this far. He had assumed he would be killed in the attempt.

The freighter was illuminated by some flood lights, not many, just enough to see by. There weren't many guards to be seen, nor were there any fences or gates. He breathed a sigh at that. Still, there was a lot of bare ground to cover before he could reach the ship.

Looking about him Vila could feel the panic building up. His breath came in short gasps, the sweat beaded his brow, his heart was pounding so loudly in his ears and his palms became sweaty. How could he get to the ship without being seen? He could find no answer, no matter how hard he tried to think. As he lay there racking his brains for a solution, he could feel the wind depositing the sand across his back, the pressure causing his fear to mount.

Scanning the area before him he could just see what was happening. Through the swirling sand he watched as a guard finished speaking to another and turned to a small oblong building to the left of the ship. He staggered against the force of the wind, an arm before him as he walked. When he reached the door he struggled to pull it open and a beam of light shone into the night from it. As he entered he was removing his helmet. Vila watched all this and came to a decision. That building appeared to be some sort of barracks, or guardhouse he guessed. The guard would be unlikely to remove his helmet whilst still on duty so he must be going to have a break. Vila acted upon his decision. He stayed crouched over, close to the ground, to keep in the cover of darkness as he headed for that same building.

Reaching the wall he pressed himself against it. There was a small Perspex window above him. Raising his head carefully he peered through the corner. The room was quite small with a light burning brightly, two guards were sitting at a table, talking over cups of steaming liquid, beyond them was a camp bed.

Vila ducked out of sight. Crouched beneath the window he pondered what to do. His only hope of getting on the freighter would be in a Federation uniform. There was no opportunity for him to smuggle himself on board as they weren't loading freight, merely unloading. The only thing leaving this planet on that ship would be people. So a uniform was the only other option. Unfortunately, the uniforms happened to be occupied. He gnawed a nail. Time was running out.

Carefully he looked in the window again. The two guards were standing, one placing the cups in a cupboard. They both picked up their helmets and exited the building. Vila ducked back around the corner, right out of sight and watched them fight against the rising wind and swirling sand. As soon as they were well on their way he quickly moved round to the door and let himself inside.

There was a long cabinet near the bed and upon opening it he found a Federation uniform hanging. He could hardly believe his luck. This was just what he wanted. He lifted it out and checked it. All appeared in order and he began to pull it over his clothes. Then he struck a problem. It was obviously designed for a much leaner frame than he. He tugged at the material but it just wouldn't quite reach the fasteners. Now what was he to do?

Don't panic, Vila, he thought to himself. Just think. He looked around the room. It was spartan apart from the bed, closet, table and chairs, and a couple of cupboards. The bed was of no use, nor were the table and chairs. He rummaged in the closet but found nothing. Moving over to the cupboards he looked through them. They contained mostly eating utensils. Could he use anything there? His fingers frantically sifted through the items. Surely there would be something! Not a thing.

He sat on the floor with a disheartened thump. Well, that's it, Vila, he thought to himself. This is as far as you go. What a joke! Fate must be really laughing to have let me get this close and now I'm still stuck. I'll never get back to the prison in time now so I may as well just wait here to get shot!

He morosely stared into the cupboard. He could see right to the back wall and made out the crisscrossing metal cables that supported the building structure. One was fraying slightly, obviously the stress of the winds on this planet was taking a toll. All those wires would eventually unravel and the whole thing would fall on their heads. At least he hoped so. He jerked at that thought. Of course, how stupid could he be! That he could use!

Pushing everything out of his way he half crawled into the cupboard space to reach to the back. His fingers searched along the frayed edge. The wires were quite sturdy. If he could get some he could use them to wire his uniform closed and few people would be the wiser. The material was durable enough to stand it. He would probably need three, if not four. He rummaged through the utensils and found a knife. This time his luck held for it was sharp, though it would hardly remain so for long. He began to saw at the wires. He could feel time ticking away inside his head. The freighter was surely nearly ready to leave and he was in a constant state of nervous fear of someone walking in on him. This made him work faster.

The first wire parted company with the rest and tinkled to the floor. Vila didn't stop. Then the second one also landed by his elbows. He kept going. Another sound penetrated the howling of the wind. He paused in his efforts to listen. Soon he recognised it; the sound of a ship's engines firing up. He was running out of time. The ship would take a little while to warm the engines enough to lift off. Vila sawed frantically at the wires. When a third tinkled down he abandoned the task and scooped them up.

Standing, he threaded the first wire through with trembling hands. The engines were still whining in the background. The second wire went through, quicker than the first, and then the third. He had no mirror to view his makeshift tailoring but glancing down he felt it was adequate. Now to get to the ship.

That was when he realised he had overlooked one important point. There was no helmet. He flung himself across the room to the closet and checked again, although he already knew there had not been one there. Sure enough, his memory hadn't lied. Now what could he do? The engines took on a different note, rising in pitch. They were getting closer to lift off speed. He had to get to that ship! He made up his mind and flung himself out the door into the blackness, sand and wind.

With an arm raised across his face he peered through the darkness trying to adjust his eyes. Soon he could make out the large dark shape that indicated the ship. Leaning into the wind he struggled towards it. Without a helmet it was difficult, very difficult. The sand in his eyes prevented him seeing and breathing was hard.

He made it to the foot of the ship's ramp and paused for a moment in the buffeting wind. Squinting he looked up the ramp and saw a Federation trooper struggling down. He saw Vila there, about to make his way up and staggered towards him. Vila saw him coming but could do nothing. There was no point in running now. The trooper grabbed his arm and pulled him up the ramp into the underbelly of the ship. He pushed the gasping Vila to the wall. Vila still had his head down, taking deep breaths and trying to brush away the sand caking his face and hair.

The trooper raised his visor and spoke. "How many times do we have to tell you new blokes not to take your helmets off? If you put it down anywhere it's liable to get buried on this bloody planet! Grab a spare one and then go strap yourself in. We're about to lift off, thank gods!" With that, the trooper flicked open a cabinet, slapped his visor down and walked off briskly.

Vila just gaped at his departing back. He could hardly believe it. There he was expecting to be shot on the spot and instead he was told to make himself comfortable! Looking into the open cabinet he saw a number of Federation helmets. Taking one he placed it on his head. Sand drifted down his face and he brushed it away. Lowering the visor he was now as anonymous as any of the others. He looked around. He knew he couldn't go to the bridge as there would only be enough places for the number of troopers who arrived and an extra body would stand out like the proverbial sore thumb. He couldn't stay here in the hold as it wouldn't be pressurised now that the supplies were unloaded. He would have to find somewhere else. At least in the uniform he could move around the ship freely.

He set off and made a quick recognisance. He appeared to be the only one on board at the moment, apart from the pilot who was seated at his console and checking the instruments. Vila ducked back down the corridor before he could be seen. There wasn't much more to the freighter; a small common room which would be in use for most of the journey - depending, of course, on where the freighter actually went to, but tucked at the back was a service hatch. Removing one of his make-shift safety pins he picked at the electrical lock. Thank goodness this was an old model freighter with old locks. Without his "bag of tricks" he wouldn't have been able to open anything more advanced. The lock opened in a satisfactorily short time and he peered inside. It was a small area that joined a narrow crawl way. It would remain pressurised during the trip in case repairs had to be made during flight. It would be a tight fit but at least he should be safe.

He looked around the common room. There were a couple of camp beds so he grabbed a pillow and blanket. May as well be comfortable and warm he thought. He pushed them into his hidey hole. On the other wall was a food and drink dispenser. Seeing it made his stomach rumble. It had been a long time since he had last eaten real food. In fact it had been a long time since he had last eaten at that. He made his way over to it. He couldn't see that there was any quota set so they wouldn't notice if a little extra was taken. He called up something hot, a meat stew, and a glass of wine. He removed them from the top of the dispenser when they arrived.

The wine was of an inferior grade; after all you would hardly expect the Federation to waste good wine on its troopers. But to Vila it tasted like heaven. He savoured that first mouthful, rolling it lovingly over his tongue before swallowing. He tossed the rest of the glass down and ordered another. Whilst that was arriving he broke the heat seal on the stew and took a bite. Again, very inferior grade but Vila thought he had never tasted anything so good. His tastebuds delighted in the sensation. It took only a few minutes for him to finish it off and he tossed back the second glass of wine.

The ship gave a shudder and Vila paused, listening. There were other clanks and thumps. They were getting ready for lift off. Vila frantically began pushing buttons on the dispenser. He wanted to put a cache in his hideaway as he had no idea of how long the journey would be or if he would get another opportunity to reach the dispenser. Six glasses of wine appeared as he found a plastic bottle nearby, and he proceeded to pour the wine into the bottle and ordered more until the bottle was full. The food he ordered he stacked away carefully so as not to break the heat seals. They would keep warm for a few days if treated gently.

The engines changed tune again and the ship moved a fraction. Vila flung himself into his hole and closed the door behind him, being sure to lock it. He could feel the acceleration as the ship lifted from the planet's surface and the gravitational pressure as it left the atmosphere to reach deep space. When the automatic ship pressurisation switched in Vila relaxed. He settled back comfortably in his pillow, wrapping the blanket around himself. He opened another food packet and began to eat. He sighed. He had made it. Beyond all his beliefs, he had actually made it. He took a swig of his wine. Yes, definitely inferior but beggars can't be choosers. And he was only a beggar now, not a prisoner.

I'm free, he thought to himself, I'm truly free. He took another drink and settled back for the ride.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Sojourn: Part 1 - Breakout

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra is mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

Author's Notes:** This is merely some thoughts about what could have been after the final of Blake's 7**.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 2

Vila stared into the darkness. He seemed to spend most of his waking hours in the night and his luck was still holding. At least for the moment.

He had escaped from Sutara nearly five months ago and had been on the move since then. It had been a five day journey on the freighter to a small provincial planet which didn't have a great deal to offer. Getting off the freighter wasn't too difficult in his purloined uniform and helmet, which he discarded immediately afterwards as it wouldn't stand up to closer scrutiny, certainly not in broad daylight.

There was a limited amount of space travel from this planet, but before he could find passage off-world he had to 'acquire' a few items. Firstly, some decent clothes, obtained by sneaking through the back door of a small laundry service and making off with the items he wanted.

Then he wandered into the small city and proceeded to 'collect' a few credits. He went very carefully because he was out of practice and didn't want to risk finding trouble this early in the piece, but soon his instincts took over. Once he had a tidy sum, he approached the space port, and booked passage on a small freighter doing a standard jump to a neighbouring planet. From there he could pick up another ship to where ever he decided to head.

He had to wait two days before leaving, so he spent those that time practicing his skills and was pleased at how quickly he fell back into his old habits. He also found a very nice bar and developed a taste for the local liquor. By the time he climbed onto his booked flight he was feeling a little under the weather. Probably not the best way to be, but considering the ship he was taking refused to serve alcohol he hoped his inebriated state would tide him over as the journey took another three days.

The second planet he arrived on was much like the first, fairly provincial, rather unexciting, although a little more advanced. There he had to wait a week until a freighter called that would take him out of that system into the next, so once more he spent a considerable time moving from place as he built up his resources. He was more than pleased at his ever-expanding 'box of tricks' as he was able to add new items to it, as well as his ever-expanding purse. Except when his will weakened and he managed to keep a friendly bartender in wages for the next month or two, after which he would have no choice but to replenish is funds once more, and trying to do that with a killer hangover just was not fun.

So that was the way it had been since his dramatic, albeit quiet, escape from Sutara. Jumping to the next planet, finding a ship, sometimes paying for passage, more often than not, managing to avoid doing so. That was purely on principle, and not because he couldn't afford it most times. Each time he moved on, he kept to short trips, on less busy routes, in an attempt to avoid the mainstream populace.

Unfortunately, as he had moved on, all the planets had been occupied in some capacity by the Federation so Vila had also spent most of his time dodging patrols and lying low. This also curtailed his activities at times as he didn't want anyone becoming too upset and reporting thefts to the Federation troopers. The last thing he needed was a full-scale search being launched for him.

He finally managed to make his way back into a fairly civilised sector of space, slowly but surely. He wasn't absolutely certain where he was and was afraid to ask and voice his ignorance. Once already he had advertised himself as a stranger, and an unknowledgeable one at that. Late one evening he had been thoroughly beaten and robbed. He had been lucky - they had left him alive. He never made that mistake again.

It didn't matter too much where he was anyway. He really wasn't certain where he was going, or if he was even actually going anywhere. He simply drifted from planet to planet when he decided to move on. As time went by, he became a little more daring in his activities and he knew enough of the underworld activities that ran on any planet to find willing buyers for things he happened to 'pick up' along the way. However, he did tend to spend most of his money on alcohol still. Some habits you just can't kick. All right, in some cases it would be all of his money, but hey, he was at least enjoying himself at those times.

Vila had arrived on this particular planet four days ago and desperately wanted to get off. There was a heavily armed Federation garrison established here, with regular patrols both during the day and night, which he hadn't been aware of when he had disembarked. This was the most organised of Federation activities that he had seen so far in his travels. With the patrols running with such regularity, Vila had found it difficult to accomplish much in his time here and had simply picked up enough funds to try and buy passage off-world. This hadn't been easy as the Federation were keeping a very strict eye on space travel, citing the reason being to curtail smuggling activities. Vila didn't know if this was the real reason, or if the troops were just using it as an excuse to shake-down the pilots and possibly pick up some bribe money.

With the heavy troop movement around the space port, Vila had been doubly wary about approaching anyone for information regarding flights. It didn't seem like a good idea to try and book a passage through the normal channels. There were far too many checks and forms to be filled, and he didn't think his forged papers would stand up to that type of scrutiny. They were good enough for most purposes, but the planet he had picked them up on couldn't provide the top-notch variety so he had had to settle for what he could get at the time. He had always intended to up-grade once he was in a place where he could get the best.

So, if he couldn't go through the normal channels, that left the only other option available to him - stowing away. He had positioned himself nearby so he could watch all the activities, picking out the most likely carrier, and then moved closer to the space port under the cover of the darkness. He had no idea if they would be aware of his escape here, or even if it was known he had escaped. Perhaps the guards on Sutara had assumed he had died somewhere. But "perhaps" wasn't enough of a surety. Vila wasn't about to take any chances. So he moved only at night, never using his real name, keeping in the background and talking to as few people as possible. For a naturally garrulous person such as himself, it was a difficult lifestyle.

He slipped along a little further, keeping to the shadows and paused again. He thought he had heard something and strained to try and catch the sound. Yes, there it was. Footsteps. Or, more accurately, boot-steps. Federation boots. They were coming up the street behind him.

Frantically he looked around him. Nothing lent itself as an obvious escape route. He set off, running on the balls of his feet to try and reduce the sound. The troopers' steps continued to dog his own. Did they know he was there? The steps hadn't increased their pace. Perhaps they hadn't heard him. Or maybe they had heard him but were pretending they hadn't. Maybe they were herding him somewhere. Was he running straight into a trap? That thought made him stop dead in fright. What should he do? Where to go?

Then, there to his left was a door. Just an ordinary door, to an ordinary warehouse. He dove towards it, his nimble fingers pulling tools from his pockets. In moments the door slid open under his touch and he flung himself inside, sealing the door behind him. He leant his head against it for a moment, breathing heavily. Were they still coming? Did they see him come in here? He pressed his ear hard against the door, straining to hear beyond it.

Suddenly, a hand gripped his shoulder and spun him around, flinging him against some stacked containers. In the dim light before him he could see a shadow and the metallic glitter of a gun, pointed directly at him.

"Don't shoot! I'm harmless, I swear!" he cried quickly, staring down the muzzle of a gun.

"Who the hell are you!" the shadowy figure snarled.

"Vila! I'm not armed!" He held his empty hands up to verify this statement.

"How did you get in here!" The shadow moved slightly and the dim light showed a feminine face.

"Through the door!"

"The door's locked!" she snarled, bringing the gun closer.

"I know! I opened it!" Vila said hurriedly, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

"It took me fifteen minutes to get it opened. YOU were bumbling around out there for only a few moments!"

The gun didn't waver an inch from Vila's nose and he watched it warily. He looked up into her face "What can I say? I'm a fast learner." The gun twitched and he decided that humour was not the best thing to use. "Honest, I'm good with locks. I've had lots of practice"

She drew back a little and Vila let out a breath as the gun withdrew a fraction. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"A Federation patrol was coming. I was trying to find a place to hide. I didn't know you were in here."

"You weren't supposed to." she said sarcastically. "Why don't you want the Federation to find you?"

"I was trying to get to the spaceport to get off this planet."

"Why? What's wrong? Are you wanted by the Federation?"

"I would just rather avoid them." Vila said a little cautiously.

"People only want to avoid the Federation as much as you do if it's after you. What did you do?"

"Nothing much." Vila tried to hedge. She merely looked at him. "But they are sort of after me. Probably."

"Well, that makes a difference. What are you - a smuggler?"

"No!" he said indignantly, "I'm a thief!"

"Really?" she said nodding "Just how good are you?"

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'll make a deal with you," she said, standing up and holstering her gun. "You help me and I'll get you off planet."

"Sounds too good. What's the catch?"

"No catch." she replied holding out her hands. "Just a simple exchange of services."

"I've heard that before. Usually just before I'm about to be killed."

She chuckled, "You're a suspicious sort of person!"

"Sorry, but I'm sure I can live with that."

"Honestly, there's no catch to it. Apart from the fact that if we're caught the Federation will kill us. After subjecting us to a great deal of pain first."

Vila shuddered. "There had to be a catch somewhere, but does it always have to be so fatal?" He stood up, brushing down his trousers. "Ah, look it was nice talking to you and all that, but I think I'll take a rain-check on this one."

She leant back against some crates. "Fine. But you won't be able to get off any other way. The only ships that leave here and go any further than the sister planet are the Federation troop carriers and they take a rather dim view of stowaways. They generally dump them out the airlock. Unless you plan to join the army."

"I'm allergic to war, you know. It makes me break out." Vila put in. "But I know there's other space flights. I came in on a freighter."

"Sure there are. The Federation doesn't really worry about what comes in. But everything going out is double-checked and triple-checked. And unless it has Federation clearance, it doesn't leave the surface of this planet."

"If no other ships can get off world without clearance, how can you?"

"Because I'm not so stupid as to come in looking like a freighter. A little bit of paint and insignia, a few tricks of the trade and I can pass for a small troopship. I can get off planet without a hitch. I can't say the same for you." She turned away from him and began to move off into the shadows.

Vila rolled his eyes and shuffled after her. "What did you say you wanted opened?" He didn't need to see her smile, he felt it. "How do I get myself into these situations!" he grumbled to himself, as he followed her into the darkness.

Vila stumbled against a crate, causing it to rattle ominously in the silence.

"Shhh!" She spun around quickly.

"Sorry," he mumbled, holding the offending article still. She moved off again and he attempted to follow once more but immediately kicked something else. Something very solid. Biting his tongue he hopped on one foot, gripping his injured leg.

"Now what's the matter?" she hissed back at him, noticing he had stopped.

"I can't see where I'm going!" he snapped back in a whisper.

"What?" She sounded puzzled. "Oh! Why didn't you say something? Here," her shadowy form moved and then he felt his fingers closed around a long thin object so he wouldn't drop it. Feeling with his thumb he located a switch and pressing it, a thin ray of light appeared before him.

"Keep it down and shielded!" she said sharply. "Now come on. We're running out of time."

She moved off once more with Vila bringing up the rear with his light. He wondered how she could see so well in the dark without the aid of a light or night vision glasses. He puzzled about this until she stopped at a corner. Kneeling down she inspected the markings on the side.

"Okay, this is the one." She looked up at Vila, her teeth shining whitely as she smiled. "Now it's time to prove you're as good as you say you are!" She rose and moved out of his way beckoning him to step forward to inspect the locks.

"This won't be too much of a problem." he said, reaching into an internal pocket of his jacket. Over his months on the run he had managed to gather together a fairly respectable tool kit for just this thing. Selecting the appropriate one he set to work.

"How do you normally open these?" he asked her, beginning to work.

"Quietly. And, if possible, unnoticeable."

"So you know how to pick locks too?"

"Most of the basic ones," was the reply. "The Federation tend to be rather lax on the rim worlds and don't invest in the best security systems. Unless it's something really important, and in that case I don't want to get mixed up in it."

"What tools do you generally use?" he asked in a professional capacity.

"What's on hand." was her noncommittal reply.

"Oh," he responded not knowing what else to say. "Uhmm, by the way, since we're partners for the moment can I ask you your name?" He heard her chuckle behind him.

"Kitra."

"I'm Vila. Very pleased to meet you."

"Likewise. Although I'll be even more pleased once you open that lock."

"All in good time."

"Time is what we're running against." she reminded him.

There was a small click and he straightened up, turning to her. "Then I wont keep you waiting any longer, milady,." he said, lifting the lid with a theatrical flourish. By the light of the torch he could see her smile in pleasure.

"Well done," was all she said moving forward to inspect the contents. "Ahhh!" he heard her say. "Just what we wanted."

"What happens now?" Vila asked.

"I'll get the carry sacks whilst you stay here. Whatever you do, keep quiet!" She turned to head off.

"Don't you want the light?" Vila whispered after her, surprised.

"I don't need it," came her answer as she disappeared into the darkness.

Vila hunched down at the side of the crate and listened to the night sounds, the creaking of crates, the skittering of small animals residing in the warehouse. He tried to ignore these furtive sounds but they infringed upon his consciousness each time and he was becoming more and more nervous. What was to stop Kitra deserting him? What if she's gone to raise the alarm? Maybe she's going to turn him into the Federation in the hope of a reward? What if...Just then she appeared in the feeble light, startling him. And what was worse was she was now dressed in a Federation uniform!

Stunned, he just sat there, staring at her in horror. She dropped the bundle she was carrying and looking up caught his expression. "Oh, Vila, calm down. How did you think we were going to get away without being noticed? I had this uniform made especially for this purpose. There's another for you. And that caused a little problem."

Recovering from his fright, he picked up the indicated clothes "Why?" he queried.

"Because, unfortunately, there was a guard inside that particular uniform at the time." came her answer, just as his hand touched a wet spot on the uniform. Holding his hand to the light he made out the red-brown tinge and swallowed against the lurch of nausea. "Hurry up." she said. "We've got to make it out of here now."

"You don't expect me to wear this, do you?" Vila said shocked. She merely looked at him. He sighed. "All right, I've seen that look before. You know you remind me a lot of someone I once knew. And he wasn't a very nice person."

"Have I said I was a nice person?" she queried with a smile.

"No." he agreed with a grimace, struggling into the uniform and trying very hard not to touch or notice the wet stain or the faint metallic smell of the blood. He had to admit that however she had killed the guard she had managed to do it with a minimum of blood and without marring the uniform. But he didn't intend to question her on her methods too closely. At least not at the moment.

Whilst he was dressing, she was busily filling the carry sacks, indicating that he should also do so once he was organised. He didn't yet know what it was that he was helping to steal and he couldn't tell from the small bundles that he was packing away now. His curiosity itched but he could tell by Kitra's quick movements that they were obviously pushed for time.

Soon they had reached the bottom of the crate and their bags were bulging. Looking at them piled on the floor Vila wondered how they were going to transport them from the building without getting caught. Even now he didn't know where Kitra's ship was located. It seemed that she must have read his mind because she looked at him with a smile on her lips.

"Just start carrying them to the door. Transport is organised outside." She shouldered a couple of bags and then grabbed one more in each hand and disappeared back into the darkness.

Vila tried to follow suit but found he couldn't see anything beyond the torch light. He paused, in a quandary when he heard her voice drift back to him. "You'll have to bring the torch as well if you're to see where you're going."

Again he wondered how she managed to navigate in the darkness. Sighing, he dropped a sack and picked up the torch instead and made his way to the door. He found it already open and switching off his torch peered outside to see a mobile land unit parked outside and Kitra tossing the bags in the back.

"Hurry!" she whispered to him, before glancing over her shoulder. He threw his load in and hurried back into the warehouse after her, again switching on the torch. It took them three trips to load everything.

"Now for the tidy up." Kitra said, motioning Vila to follow her once more. Sighing, he did so, coming to a stop at the emptied crate. "Lock it up tight and make sure there's nothing to show for the tampering." she ordered, peering around on the floor, picking up a scrap of lint from the carry bags and carefully wiping at a tiny speck of blood that had fallen from his purloined uniform.

Vila did as she bade and quickly sealed the crate, erasing all signs that they had been there. In this he knew his job and did it well. When she was satisfied, they returned to the vehicle and Vila locked the door behind them, resetting the alarm system, before clambering in beside her.

"Here," she said handing him a helmet. "Put that on." She crammed one on as well, tucking any stray wisps of hair underneath out of sight then started the engine.

During that drive Vila's heart was in his mouth the whole time. Twice they were stopped by routine patrols but Kitra's replies and the papers she handed over satisfied these and they were soon pulling up at what looked to be a small troop carrier.

"This is your ship?" Vila queried. It really did look like a Federation troop carrier and again he had his doubts that she wasn't Federation.

"Told you, I'm good at what I do. What better place to hide than right under the Federation's nose?" She moved to the underside air lock and tapped out a sequence on the lock panel. In response, a ramp lowered and she beckoned Vila to drive the vehicle into the interior of the ship. There she quickly began to unload, with Vila assisting.

"Strap them down in that compartment," she instructed him, indicating the place and showing him how to work the straps. "I'm going to return this unit. Be back shortly."

Vila had a little trouble with working out the way the straps were supposed to go so he had only just finished when he heard her light step on the ramp behind him. She brought the ramp up behind her and checked his work, nodding her head in satisfaction.

"Come on. I don't want to hang around here any longer than I have too." and he followed her out of the cargo bay, watching as she secured it and up to the flight deck.

"I can't believe it was so easy!" Vila said ecstatically now that he felt safe and secure and his fright was receding. "It was like taking candy from a baby!"

"We're not clear yet." Kitra reminded him, throwing the Federation helmet to one side.

"But it went like clockwork, just like you said. Not a hitch. You should do this all the time. You'd make a fortune."

She shook her head. "Very infrequently, in fact." she said, punching buttons on the console.

"But why? It was a piece of cake."

"Do it too often and the Federation would start to catch on. Besides, it's only rarely that there's something worth taking from there. This is only the third run I've done here in five years." She looked up at Vila with a grin. "You were lucky I came by at all or you'd still be waiting. Or dead." She straightened up and began to unzip the Federation uniform. "Griffen," she said out loud. "Is the course set?"

"All done, Kitra. We're ready for lift off." a masculine voice answered her.

Vila looked around. "I didn't know there were more of you." he said uneasily.

"Only Griffen. Don't worry," she gestured to one of the empty seats. "Better grab a chair. If the Federation get suspicious we could be in for a rough ride. Griffen, run the clearance program."

"Running now." The flight deck door swished open as the engines began to fire up. Looking around Vila saw a floating silver globe. It came to a sudden stop just inside the door and hovered there. Vila had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

"Who's that?" the voice emanated from the globe.

"That's Vila." Kitra replied, without looking up from her console. "He helped get the cargo so I said I'd give him a lift."

"Sure he's okay?"

Kitra looked up this time and flashed a quick smile to Vila. "Yes, I'm sure."

"All right. Where to?"

"Home. I want to unload first thing to cut the risk of anything going wrong. Damaged goods don't sell."

"Is that wise?" By this time the globe had reached the console next to her and settled itself upon the surface.

Kitra looked over at it in exasperation. "Griffen, it's all right! He's all right! You're getting more and more suspicious in your old age!"

"One of us has to be careful! You're the one going around taking all the risks!"

Vila watched this interchange with interest. He had never seen anyone have an argument with a metal ball before.

"Can we finish this discussion back at the base? We're not getting there any quicker this way." she said pointedly.

"All right, all right! We'll do it your way! We always do! Clearance has just come through, we can take off."

"Finally! Hold on, Vila." The ship lifted slowly, gradually gaining speed until Vila could see only stars before them.

"Looks like we did it!" Kitra said with relief, leaning back in the flight chair. "That's been one of the smoothest operations I've done for a long time. Thanks for your help, Vila." She came down to where he sat. "Where do you want to go to? I still owe you a lift."

"Well, actually, I don't have any particular place to go." She looked at him in puzzlement so he felt the need to explain further. "You see, I'm sort of wanted by the Federation. I escaped from one of their prison planets so I've just been trying to stay out of sight. Things have been getting a little tense lately."

"So you've got nowhere special to go? No jobs lined up?"

"Currently between engagements, you could say." he said with an impish smile.

"Don't do it, Kitra!" The silver globe flew down to hang at her shoulder. "He's more than likely a Federation spy!"

"Am not!" Vila said indignantly.

"It's all too convenient!" the globe pressed.

"I don't think so, Griffen. You didn't see him working. He's good and you don't get that good working for the Federation."

"I swear I'm not with the Federation. Look, I got mixed up with the rebellion and all that a few years back. Once I broke out of prison I've been on the run ever since. I've had enough excitement to last me a lifetime. I just want to settle down to a nice quiet life of thievery."

"The rebellion?" she frowned. "What faction?"

"I was with Blake."

"Blake, the political agitator? He's dead."

"He certainly is now." Vila agreed grimly, blocking the memories.

"Anyone could claim to have been with Blake!" Griffen put in. "Bit hard to check it now they're all dead!"

"Well, I'm not! And I was! I could tell you anything you like about it. You name it!"

"So you say!"

"What are you but a pile of spare parts!"

"Boys!" Kitra held up a hand to forestall the argument. "Look, I don't really care who you were with before! You could have stirred up a hundred rebellions for all I care, I'm not interested. But I do have a business proposition."

Vila leant forward. "I'm listening."

"You know I'm a smuggler. I prefer to actually acquire the goods myself instead of relying on a go-between. Less chance of being doublecrossed that way, and cheaper. Now I'm reasonable with locks and security systems, but no where near as good as you. I could use your talents. With your help I could double my profits."

"Profits?" Vila's eyes lit up at that word.

"Profits. Big profits. I've got a good name in the business and can charge a high fee. The more cargo I can lay my hands on, the more deals I can make, the more money I can get. It'd be a three way split - myself, Griffen and you. What do you say?"

"Just how much money are we talking about?" Vila asked, his eyes beginning to un-focus a little as his imagination kicked in.

Kitra leant forward on the console. "Lots!" she whispered.

"Lots," Vila repeated dreamily, then looked back at her sharply. "You mean it? You're not just saying that? You're not really trying to save the galaxy or something?"

She laughed. "Do I look like some sort of revolutionist?"

Vila eyed her up and down, especially where the undone Federation uniform showed a curve of snowy white flesh. "No, you certainly don't."

She leant forward again. "Then it's a deal?" holding out her hand.

Vila put his hand in hers "What do we steal?" he asked.

She laughed as they shook on it.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Sojourn: Part 1 - Breakout

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

Author's Notes:** This is merely some thoughts about what could have been after the final of Blake's 7**.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 3

Two ships rushed through the depths of space. The second fired two bursts of light and the other rocked at the concussion of the blasts. The first ship put on a burst of speed which sent it flashing ahead, as it disappeared into the fringe of an asteroid field. With a few manoeuvres, it was then on the other side and streaking away from pursuit.

"Have we lost them?" Kitra asked.

"Seem to have," was Griffen's reply.

"Okay, scan this sector. Is it safe to go on?"

"There are quite a number of Federation ships in the vicinity."

"Damn!"

"We'll have to hole up somewhere for a while to wait."

"I know. Punch up the star chart." Kitra scanned the screen image of orbiting dots indicating the celestial bodies present. "What about this one?" pointing.

"Poisonous atmosphere."

"What's the data on Guada Prime?"

Griffen keyed in the computer recall. "Guada Prime: Initially colonised as an agricultural world, evolved to a mining colony. Society broke down through internal conflict. Sought readmission to the Federation over five years ago. Bounty hunters were brought in to establish law and order to achieve this. Mining collapsed two years ago, now abandoned. Excess information cleared." the impersonal computer voice over ceased.

"What does it mean 'excess information cleared'?" Griffen asked.

"It means that information was placed in the banks by the Federation, and has been wiped off." Kitra said musingly. "Presumably for security reasons."

"It looks like a good enough place to suit our purposes." Griffen said. "We can land there and wait till the Federation get tired of looking for us. I doubt they're going to check every planet in this sector. And if it's abandoned then at least we reduce the risk of being detected from the surface."

"Let's hope not." Kitra said. "All right, set a course for Guada Prime. Besides, I want to see what's down there that the Federation doesn't want anyone to know about."

"Now, don't go looking for trouble!" Griffen warned her.

She grinned at the console where he rested. "Manual control!" was all she said and strapped herself into her chair as she took the controls.

Slowly they descended through Guada Prime's atmosphere and finally touched down. She punched up the video screen and surveyed the outside area. It was semi-forested, dotted with barren areas, obviously the residue of mining activities.

"Atmosphere is breathable. Gravity a quarter more than standard Earth." Griffen said as the computer put up details. "Can't see any abnormalities. Couple of spots of high radiation factor probably due to the mining. They're further north from here and don't pose any problems. Weather appears to be relatively normal, a little on the humid side. The planet appears capable of supporting most humanoid life-forms. There doesn't seem to be anything out of place except that there's no life-form readings. I don't know what's supposed to be here that was so important to the Federation."

"There must be something."

"Maybe there was but it's not here now?"

"Could be," she agreed, still watching the changing view screen as it panned 360 degrees.

"You going to have a look?"

She glanced across at Griffen. "I may as well while we're here. Just keep an eye on the scanners and let me know if pursuit ships start heading this way. Or you pick up anything unusual out there. I don't fancy any surprises."

"I'll keep watch. You keep your communicator open. And be careful."

"I'm always careful." she replied, picking up her gun. Griffen forgo to answer.

Outside the wind whipped around her. Her communicator crackled. "Seen anything?" Griffen's voice came over.

"Nothing so far," She paused. "There's something bothering me, something wrong with this place, but I don't know what." she said slowly. "I'll have a look around a bit more."

She walked across the rocky, barren area, watching the surrounding forest warily, glancing to either side. "Are we sure this place is deserted?" she asked.

"Of course we're not. It's only the Federation computer banks that said that, and that doesn't necessarily mean it's true. There're more lies in there than truth most times. Why, seen something?"

"No, but I just wondered."

She came to a steep rocky slope and began to climb. She reached with one hand to pull herself up and casually glanced down to where her hand was placed and stopped. A frown creased her forehead as she quickly brushed away more of the surface sand and gravel, to stare at what lay just underneath the surface. She caught her breath as she looked at the dully, glinting metal. She spoke sharply into her communicator.

"Griffen, get the computers to do a run down of what is **beneath** the surface of this planet!"

"What's happened?"

"I think I may have found that secret." she said slowly.

Griffen's excited voice soon came back. "There's some kind of complex, or what's left of one, right where you are!"

"Right, I'm coming back."

Back in the ship, Kitra gathered some explosives and also an oxygen mask. "Do you think it's a good idea going in?" Griffen asked worriedly.

"Well, what ever the Federation is covering up, presumably it is in there. And also, which is of more use to us, is that if it's a large base there might be some technological equipment which we could maybe salvage. Spare parts always come in handy."

"It's not likely to be functional after all this time. The place has been abandoned for at least the past year, if not longer. From the scan readings it looks like there's been numerous cave-ins also. That could have happened at any time." Griffen said dubiously.

"Only one way to find out," Kitra replied. "Analyse the air once I'm inside and keep a scan over the entire area. I want to know if there's anything else around here."

"Okay. Watch yourself." Griffen said.

Once back at the rubble she spoke into her communicator. "Where's the best place to start?"

"Try to the east of where you are." Griffen said. "Keep going, keep going... keep going. Stop."

"Why here?"

"It appears to be one of the most stable areas. If you're going to start blasting holes in things, it's better to start at a position that is least likely to collapse under your feet. There's no telling how badly damaged things are underneath. It seems pretty extensive so let's not take any risks."

"Fine by me," she replied. "I'm planting the fuse now." She set the explosive detonator and took cover behind some rocks for protection. The blast was terrifyingly loud on the quiet planet.

"You all right, Kitra?" Griffen's voice crackled over.

She coughed as some fine dust tickled the back of her throat, "Yes, I'm fine."

She went to the hole that had been made by the explosion, and fixing her oxygen mask on, tossed the rolled ladder she had secured down before stepping inside. Once she had reached the floor, she flashed her torch around and shone it towards the ceiling as a shower of dirt fell in front of her. She drew her gun and strapped the torch to her right arm, so as to have one hand free as she moved further in, stepping over rubble.

"Kit?"

"I'm here."

"Don't remove your mask. The air is heavily tainted with various toxins, probably from all the damage. It's been sealed up so tightly they haven't been able to disperse. What have you found?"

"Not a lot. Dirt, rubbish," she kicked a twisted bit of metal. "Junk. I'll keep looking."

She cautiously moved around, having to change her direction frequently as blockages barred her way. She knelt down to finger some rags at her feet. "There's been Federation troopers here." she said back to the ship. She looked at the dim illumination of the wreckage.

"How do you know?"

"I've found what's left of them. I'm assuming they were dead when this place was blown. I can't go much further here, and there's not much worth salvaging. Maybe a few computer components but I wouldn't count on it. Must have been an old Federation base, probably set up when the planet was trying to be readmitted to the Federation. Well, it's not worth our time."

"Kitra! I've picked up an energy signal issuing from close by!" Griffen's voice said excitedly.

Kitra ran outside and viewed the surrounding land. "Where!"

"Further to your right, about 500 yards," She turned in the direction given, shading her eyes from the sun. "Should be behind that next outcrop you can see." Griffen instructed.

"Right, I'll check it out." She reached the crest and looked around. "Can't see anything."

"It appears to be issuing from underground. Not far though. Might be an extension to the base. You may have triggered something whilst you were down there."

"Didn't think anything was remotely still working in there." She had reached the area Griffen had directed her to. "So, what do you think?"

"Try blasting your way in."

"How much will I need?"

"Just a couple of grams, no more or you're likely to bring the whole lot down." She set things up as Griffen had instructed and watched the charge detonate.

Cautiously approaching the opening, she shone her light inside. The dust was clearing gradually, hanging heavily in the air as there was little air movement to blow it away. She was thankful for the oxygen mask, the last thing she needed was to be breathing in that. There wasn't a great deal to see in this tiny crammed area.

Looking around, she soon spotted the half buried flier, the only large object to be seen. The nose was crumpled from falling debris, and girders had speared the back end. It appeared to have been landed in a storage unit for crushed containers thrust their twisted wreckage between the rubble already lying there. She approached carefully and tried the door, which proved to be either locked or jammed. Aiming her gun at the door's controls, she fired, seeing the flash of metal and sparks. Setting her shoulder to it she managed to push it open, with some effort, far enough to allow her entry. All was dark as she squeezed inside.

"If you come any closer I shall detonate the self destruct of this ship."

The voice issuing out of the darkness startled her completely and she froze. She was superstitious enough for one moment to think it was a lost spirit as she could not believe that someone would be actually alive down here. Gathering her courage once more, she played her light around the crumpled interior. There was nothing to be seen, no ghostly apparition, no flickering spirit lights. The only thing she could make out inside was a square shape with tiny flashing lights wedged in the far corner of the flier.

She leant over to the control panel and brought up the interior lights that gleamed weakly, obviously the power packs were almost out. She made any move to approach the box, but just looked at it closely, wondering if it was some form of bomb left by the owners of the vehicle.

The box did nothing except continue to flash its lights, and now she could discern a faint humming issuing from it. It appeared to be some type of computer, judging from the components that she could see in the dim lights, but it was nothing like any computer she was familiar with.

As it was the only thing to be found in the flier that looked like it was functioning, she could only assume that it was the source of the voice. Therefore, if it was a computer then it could possibly exert enough power to do some damage, such as self destruct. It took only a moment for her to come to this conclusion. Now what to do about it?

"You may be able to blow us both up, I suppose. But what is to stop me from destroying you before you do so?" She sat down next to it, not knowing if she would receive an answer or not. Up close it looked even more impressive. Kitra was no stranger to computer electronics and this was definitely a computer, albeit one that she had never seen the like of before. "You're certainly unusual. I've never seen anything as advanced as you."

"I would be very surprised if you had. I am unique." the voice sounded very superior. It almost made her laugh.

"Modest, too," Kitra added wryly. "So just what are you?"

"I am Orac. I am the most advanced artificial intelligence that is in the known galaxy at this time."

"Orac...Orac...I know that name ..." she mused. "I remember!" she exclaimed, snapping her fingers and pointing to it. "Ensor's first brainchild! Griffen's spoken of you both. I wasn't certain you really existed."

"Well, it should be quite obvious even to someone with as limited mental capabilities as yourself that I do most certainly exist." Orac said testily.

"Aren't you a bundle of laughs," she said, not knowing whether to be insulted or not. After all, it was just a bunch of electronic components. Getting upset and kicking it probably wouldn't accomplish much. "What are you doing here?"

"I met with some misfortune and have been awaiting rescue."

"Obviously." she said sarcastically. "How long have you been here?"

"I have been here three years, eight months, 6 days, 14 hours, ..."

"Enough! I get the idea. So how come no-one's found you till now? This planet has only been abandoned for the last two years."

"I have been very judicious to whom I directed my locater beam."

"Oh, really? Why?"

"I had no desire to be found by the Federation, who would have no idea of how best to use my abilities."

"At least you've got some good taste. Well, come on then. You'd better come with me."

"And who are you?"

"No friend of the Federation. So I guess that makes me a friend of yours - though don't bet on it. You can plug yourself into the ship's computer and pick its memory banks clean if you want to find out more. Deal?"

"Very well. It would appear that you are the best option that is likely to present itself in the near future. One must be able to make do with what little we are limited to."

"Orac," Kitra said, as she began to prise him loose. "I think I could really start to dislike you. Very quickly."

Once he was free, she picked Orac up and made her way back to the ship before setting him down on the ramp. Griffen's silver globe met her at the door.

"So what do you think?" she asked him, knowing he had overheard the previous conversation through the open communicator, as she closed the ramp.

"Curious."

"That's an understatement." she said, making her way to the flight deck, still clutching Orac.

"Nothing of any use down there?"

"Not a thing. It's all been too badly damaged and most of it I can't even get to. We don't have time to mount a full scale excavation of this site. Especially not with the Federation around who might decide to get nosy. I would have liked to been able to pick up something at least for our troubles."

"Well, it was well worth the trip since we've got Orac."

"Is that really such a big deal?" she queried, dropping Orac onto a bench seat and making her way over to her flight chair.

Griffen followed her. "Kitra, believe me, the Federation would kill a hundred times over to get their hands on Orac. They have been since first finding out about it, from the rumours I heard."

"If it's so good how come they haven't got it then? They manage to buy everything else. Or steal it. You know, they're worst thieves than we are!" she said with a grim smile.

"Because its creator, Ensor, was reclusive and hid himself for twenty years out of the Federation's sight. No-one knew where. It was rumoured that he had created a "super brain" - Orac. The last I heard officially was that Ensor had died and there wasn't any mention made of Orac after that. I do remember hearing rumours that Orac was linked to some rebel group. How they got their hands on him I don't know. I can't remember the details, it was all quite a while ago." Griffen settled into the console next to her.

"So it'll be useful?"

"Absolutely. We can start to get ahead of the Federation and it'll be the best sort of warning system we could have. It's supposed to be able to access any Federation computer bank, no matter what or where. It can link into any system that uses the tarial cell, which basically covers everything. No-one has bettered that design yet."

"Now that would be useful!" Kitra agreed. "Orac, are there any other bases on this planet that won't be so badly damaged?"

"For what purpose do you wish to know?" Orac's voice sounded irritated to Kitra. Although how a computer could be irritated she didn't understand.

"So we can maybe salvage a few parts - especially computer components. Anything out of the ordinary would come in handy. We like to make as many modifications to our ship as possible. Not to mention maybe sell the rest."

"Very well. If you care to go to the bearing I have given your shipboard computer you will find the wreckage of a freighter that I know has quite a few modifications that may be of use to you. Of course, I cannot guarantee how functional these components are but they may be of some small benefit."

"Great! At least we're not going away empty handed. Griffen, take us over."

A short hop later saw Kitra outside once more.

"What a mess!" Kitra said surveying the wreck. Time had covered most of the damage done to the flora and surrounding land but the rusting remains of the ship still remained. She held Orac in front of her. "You really think there's something worthwhile in there?" she asked dubiously.

"I stated that I could not guarantee if they would be viable but you requested unusual computer components and that I do know exists within."

"Okay," she said, with a resigned sigh. "If you say so."

With much difficulty, she made her way inside and put Orac down in a cleared area. "So where are these parts?" she asked, looking around.

Orac began directing her from section to section of the ship, instructing how to remove components and which ones were of use and which weren't. Some were so badly damaged that she knew they wouldn't be functional just by looking. She did have a fairly extensive knowledge of technology. These she discarded and moved on. Fortunately, Guada Prime tended to be a reasonably dry planet, just enough rainfall to make it a lush growing area, but not enough to turn the surface into a quagmire.

Finally Orac seemed satisfied that they had picked the remains clean of whatever he considered to be useful, mostly it was from the engine room and the flight deck, including a variety of guns. She placed all of it in the haversacks she had brought, picked up Orac and made her way back to the ship. Using a ground cart she returned to collect the bags and loaded everything before returning.

"Got it?" Griffen asked as she arrived on the flight deck.

"Everything Orac told me to get. Haven't any idea what most of it is but it looks pretty sophisticated, even through the grime. Don't know how long it's been sitting down there. How's things up top?"

"Clear as a bell and has been for a time. I think we could probably make a run for it."

"Sure? I don't want to clear the atmosphere and have three pursuit ships waiting for us."

"Trust me."

"Do I have a choice?"

"Always! You can say no!"

"Ha! Let's go," She settled herself in and began to monitor the controls.

As they lifted up she called across to Orac, where a strap held him in place. "Orac, can you check if there are any Federation ships in the vicinity, and give me their distances?"

"Of course. The only vessels present are a Federation flotilla currently located at a distance of 100 spacials and withdrawing."

"Perfect!" Kitra said with a smile. "Let's go home!"

"Orac!" Vila cried, staring at the box.

Kitra looked at him in surprise. " Ah, you two know each other?"

"Yes! Orac?" Vila peered into the box at the flashing lights. "Orac? Are you in there?"

"And just where else, precisely, would I be?" Orac replied testily.

"Glad to see some things haven't changed." Vila muttered.

"I find this entire situation most intolerable. I need to have some minor repairs and calibration conducted and I find myself brought to you of all people!"

"Hold on now!" Vila said indignantly. "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be here."

"Actually, it's if it wasn't for me." Kitra put in.

"Same thing," Vila replied off handedly, glancing at her.

Kitra rolled her eyes as she poured a drink for herself, and sat down with a sigh.

"So. You going to tell me about this?" she asked Vila, nodding her head in Orac's direction.

"Not much to tell really," Vila replied with a small shrug. "Guada Prime was where I was captured. Orac was obviously left there." Vila turned back to Orac. "I'm surprised the Federation didn't take you. Servalan had been trying for long enough to get her claws on you. I think there were only two things Servalan always wanted and couldn't get; you and Avon."

"Fortuitous events prevented such an occurrence."

"Hold on!" Kitra said sitting up straight and staring at Vila. "You were captured on Guada Prime?"

"Yes. I told you that."

"No, you didn't!"

"I'm sure I did." Vila said with a puzzled expression.

Kitra let out a snort of disgust. "That means that Orac was with you. With Blake! You're the rebel group that Griffen had heard rumours about, concerning Orac!" She shook her head. "Vila, you sometimes leave out the most important information in your stories!"

"I didn't think it was that important really. I guessed that the Federation must have got him or he had been blown up, or something."

"It's that "or something" which could get you killed one day!" Kitra said in exasperation. "And me! For goodness sakes, Vila, from now on tell me everything you remember. Even if you don't think it's important. If I had known that it was Guada Prime where you were captured, I would never have gone there."

"But if you hadn't you'd never have found Orac and the Federation might have, eventually. You'd be in worse trouble then." Vila pointed out reasonably.

"Okay!" she said, agreeing. "Point taken, but at least forewarn people. All right?"

"I'll try."

"Thanks!" she said wryly, taking a drink.

"So how did you survive, Orac?" Vila asked.

"A series of explosions were triggered shortly after you had all entered the complex. The charges were laid at various points throughout the area and connected to a delay-relay, thereby detonating at different intervals. I managed to make some minor variations in the signal that prevented the charges in the nearest vicinity from exploding at full capacity. The landing silo was mostly buried instead of being completely destroyed."

"That's where I found him." Kitra put in. "I had to blast my way in. It was pure chance that I bothered."

"Ah, did you look through anywhere else?" Vila asked, coming to perch on the lounge opposite here.

She shook here head. "Griffen said it was all pretty badly damaged structurally, especially around that silo area. There wouldn't have been much left to salvage even if it had been safe for me to go further. The rest of the complex didn't seem in much better shape." She narrowed her eyes as Vila's seeming innocence. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason." he replied quickly.

"Why?" she asked more firmly.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you may have found any of the others. You know."

"Vila, it's been years! Even if I could have got in, there wouldn't have been much left of them after this long! You're talking about nearly four years!"

He shrugged. "I suppose. I was just wondering if they were all dead."

"All those that were still alive were removed by the Federation before the explosions had completely destroyed the complex." Orac interjected. "As you were."

Vila leapt to his feet to cross to Orac's side. "You mean they could still be alive?"

"If they survived the Federation attack, they would have been alive and therefore removed before the final destruction. By conclusion, they could possibly still be alive if they have survived the subsequent years as did you."

"That's right." Vila said, gazing off into space. "I'm still alive. Which means they could be. Do you really think it's possible?" he queried Orac intensely.

"As you, of all people, are still alive, I believe it is highly probable that some of the other members of the group most definitely would also be. Considering their intelligence rating is somewhat higher than yours, and their importance factor would be greater."

"That's not very nice!"

"I am not programmed to be nice." was Orac's testy reply.

"Alright, alright," Vila brushed that remark aside. "So you think it's likely?"

"That is what I just said, did I not!"

"Can you do some checking? Something like that, following a path through infinity, that you did before? To find Blake, I mean."

"It will take some time to access the appropriate Federation data banks before compiling the relevant information."

"Vila, what are you up to?" Kitra asked, concerned.

"Just asking," Vila said with wounded innocence.

Kitra shook her head at him, pursing her lips. "No!" she said firmly.

"No, what?" he asked all wide eyed.

"You want to go look for them!"

"I hadn't thought of that, but now you mention it, it would be kind of nice, don't you think? You know, a sort of family reunion." Vila said in a reasonable voice.

"Vila, are you insane! You show you're face anywhere and you'll get it shot off! And mine as well! You've got to be out of your mind!"

"Oh, it's not that bad. Everyone thinks I'm dead so they won't think it's me, even though it is me, which they wouldn't believe, so they'd think it couldn't be me but it really is me. I think." he finished confused.

Kitra got to her feet. "Vila, think about it for a moment, will you? You were in a maximum security prison. You're lucky to be alive, let alone have escaped from the place. If any of the others are alive that's exactly where they'll be. If they weren't executed straight out of hand. We are not mounting a prison break!"

"It might not be that bad."

"It's not my business!"

"But together we're pretty good at breaking into things we're not supposed to break into. And get out things we're not supposed to get out."

"I'm a smuggler, not a rescue operation!"

"They may not be in prison. They could have escaped. Like me. Then we would just be meeting up for a chat."

"No!"

"A few drinks?"

"No!"

"A coffee?"

"NO!"

"Well, I didn't really say I was going to do it. It was just a thought." Vila went over to the bar and poured himself a drink. "After all, if any of the others are free they haven't tried to find me. They didn't try to get me out. I had to do it myself. And if they're in prison I don't want to get that close to another after spending three years breaking out of that one. That was a well built prison, you know." He took a long swallow of wine.

"Leave them there, is what I say. Let them rot. I've got better things to do with my time than try and find them." Vila took another swallow and topped up his glass. "Besides, what's five years of leading a rebellion together? It's not like I miss any of them. Avon would probably kill me. Accidentally, mind you - I'm sure he'd say he was sorry afterwards. Though then again, maybe he wouldn't." Vila glanced over at Kitra. "You never can tell with Avon. He's kind of a complex type of person. You'd probably like him." He swirled the wine around in his glass. "Yes, I'm better off without them."

Kitra stood for a moment more then threw her hands up in the air. "Alright!" she said resignedly.

"Alright what?" Vila asked having another swallow.

"You win! We'll try and find them. But if you get us killed I'll come back and haunt you!" she stabbed a finger at him to emphasise her point. A smile spread over Vila's face. She sighed and sank down onto the lounge.

"I've got to be mad!" she said under her breath. Vila handed her a full glass of wine with an enchanting smile and she merely shook her head in resignation and closed her eyes. "I've got to be completely mad!"


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Sojourn: Part 1 - Breakout

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

Author's Notes:** This is merely some thoughts about what could have been after the final of Blake's 7**.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 4

"Well, any luck?" Kitra asked as she came into the room, slapping her gloves against her flight suit. Fine dust rose in a cloud around her at the contact.

"Not yet." Vila replied. "Where'd that come from?" pointing to the dirt drifting from her clothes.

She grimaced. "Just finished that run out to Tapis II. The god-damn place is a dust bowl!" She pushed her hair from her forehead, leaving a grimy streak. "Got a good price for those Antrian spices though. Since the Federation put the tariffs on them the black market is booming!"

She withdrew a couple of pouches from her deep pockets, pouches that bulged and clinked in a very satisfying manner to Vila's eyes and ears. She tossed one to him, which he caught with ease.

"Your share. Without those magic fingers of yours it could have been a little difficult getting the cargo out of the warehouses so quietly."

Vila chuckled as he weighed the pouch in his hand. He knew he held a small fortune in his palm. "The Federation is still probably trying to figure out how it got out of the locked room with no alarms being tripped." he said with smug pride.

"Well, limber those digits up, we've got another job."

"Already?" Vila asked with dismay, visions of a spending spree fading away.

Kitra let out a short laugh. "The bills don't pay themselves!"

"We don't have any!"

"Oh, yes we do! Where do you think spare parts come from, energy cells, food, medical supplies, your wine?"

"Oh," Vila replied subdued.

Kitra frowned as she sat heavily into a chair. "Come to think of it, you should be paying for the wine out of your share, you drink most of it. I think that's going to be the new policy from now on."

"Oh!" Vila repeated, wincing at the thought of parting with the wealth in his hand.

"Anyway, this is just a quick job. Griffen's checking things out at the moment, making sure everything's kosher. It's supposed to be a simple courier job, picking up some cargo and dropping it off. We'll get the co-ordinates sent to us once we're on our way."

"Seems safe enough," Vila said.

"Seems," Kitra replied darkly, eyes narrowed, "Doesn't necessarily follow that it is. I don't know if I'm just getting more suspicious in my old age, but something about this one bothers me."

"Like what?" Vila asked seriously. He trusted Kitra's instincts and hunches. They had warned them away from danger more than once with an uncanny accuracy. Vila wasn't going to question it. Not if it kept his hide intact also.

She shook her head, still frowning. "Not sure. Maybe it seems like they got in touch with us too easily." She shrugged a little, "I just don't know. Maybe I'm just tired and seeing trouble where there isn't any. We've been working steadily for quite a few months now. Maybe I need a break."

She frowned for a moment more in silence, then slapped her hand against her thigh, sending up another eddy of fine particles, and spoke briskly. "Right or wrong, I think we're going to take a few precautionary measures. Start packing, I want everything crated and stored on the freighter, ready to go. See if you can get Orac to scout for a suitable planet to shift to, preferably somewhere the Federation isn't and not likely to come looking for us. You know the usual thing."

"You really think it's necessary?" Vila queried. They had only moved base once since he had joined her, but Kitra had indicated that she and Griffen would do so whenever they felt the need arose. This was obviously one of those times.

"I'd rather be certain than sorry. We've been here a while now and they may have got an inkling about us and are now trying to pinpoint our position. I want the freighter loaded and sent somewhere else before we set off on this job."

"Right," Vila agreed. "I'll load the wine on 'Pegasus'."

Kitra looked at him in puzzlement. "You mean the freighter, don't you?"

Vila shook his head. "No. If we're going to be dodging Federation pursuit ships we're not going to be able to head straight for the new base, are we? So we could be flitting around for a while. I get kind of dry, you know."

Kitra chuckled as she folded a cabinet down so it formed a carry case. "Vila, you never change!"

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Kitra spat in fury, fingers flying over the console. The ship rocked from another blast.

"Shields weakening. Right stabilizer fluctuating." Griffen's disembodied voice came to her.

"Lock it down!"

"Plasma bolt launched! Bearing 932.62!" Vila read his screen.

"Compensating!"

"Second plasma bolt launched, bearing 762.34! Kitra, do something!"

"I'm open to suggestions!" she threw back at him.

The deck tilted as she manoeuvred to avoid the second plasma bolt before levelling out. Then the ship suddenly rocked violently from an impact, throwing them both from their seats to the floor.

"What the hell was that!" Kitra yelled, clawing her way into her seat, a trickle of blood running from a gash at the temple.

"A third pursuit ship has arrived, bearing 328.96." Orac spoke up. "The odds of survival now calculate as.."

"Shut up!" Vila yelled.

"Griffen, take over! Keep us out of range if you can! Vila, come with me!"

Kitra propelled herself from the console to the flight deck door, holding on as the ship bucked from another glancing blow. Vila joined her there as he was flung across the deck.

"Where are we going!" he shouted over the noise.

"Engine room!" she replied as she released her hold and practically ran down the corridor.

"Why!" he yelled after her disappearing figure before letting go himself and stumbling in her wake.

Twice more the ship was hit, throwing him from side to side. The second time whilst he was pressed up against the bulkhead he could hear the hissing sound as the automatic safety equipment sent jets of sealant into the area between the bulkhead and outer hull to seal any breach. He shuddered at the thought of the hull being punctured and terror spurred him on.

As he reached the engine room Griffen's voice came over the com, "Kit, the shields are down to 26! Another direct hit and we'll be history! And there's another pursuit ship coming in! Better be quick about it!"

Vila stumbled though the open doorway to land on his knees next to Kitra.

"Glad you could make it," she said, without taking her eyes from what she was doing. "With a fourth pursuit ship out there, we don't have a chance, even if our shields were fully charged. I really should have found time to upgrade them."

"What are you doing?"

"Something I'd rather not be," was her unnerving reply. "Right, I need your delicate touch." She lifted away the panel she had just unscrewed. "Put your hand in here and reach to the far right corner. You should feel a knob."

Vila reached in and felt around. "Got it,"

"Okay, push it in and turn it 90 degrees to the left, then stop. Don't!" she said firmly looking him in the eye. "Don't turn it any further than 90 degrees or you'll blow us all to kingdom come."

Vila swallowed nervously and rolled his eyes, then carefully followed her instructions. "Done."

"Now, pull it out as far as it will go and turn to your right until it completely screws out." The ship rocked violently again and Kitra supported Vila against the concussion.

"Shields failing!" Griffen's voice came to them. "Fourth pursuit ship will be in firing range in 55 seconds!"

"Hurry, Vila!" Kitra said urgently.

The screw suddenly came free in his hand. "Done it!"

"Bring it up and keep a grip on the wire attached. Don't let it knock against anything."

Villa pulled it up carefully, trailing a blue wire behind.

Meanwhile, Kitra had located another two wires and now held a pair of electric pliers and an electron booster pack.

"What now?" Vila asked, thinking of the time ticking away and wondering what Kitra had in mind.

"Now I do a bit of jury-rigging and if all goes well it will provide a single burst of speed that will get us out of here."

"How fast?"

"Around mark 15."

"Through that!" Vila said, pointing to the make-shift gadget she was even now attaching wires to and fixing settings. "It won't be able to contain that much power! You'll blow us all up!"

"We're dead if we don't!" she snarled at him. "What would you rather chance!"

"Shields collapsing! Fourth ship in range, three plasma bolts launched!" Griffen called to them.

"Do it!" Vila yelled.

Kitra brought the final wire towards the junction box. Sparks arced between the two components making her wince then she jammed the end in.

Vila closed his eyes and prayed. There was a blinding flash and he heard Kitra cry out, then he felt a wrenching lurch in his stomach and was forced to the floor by the pressure as a rushing filled his ears.

Vila groaned as he opened his eyes. The pressure was gone, although his body ached from head to toe. The bulkhead above him seemed to be moving until he blinked his eyes into focus. That only slowed the spinning a little. He rolled over and groaned again at the pain.

"That is something I don't want to try again." he murmured, sitting back on his heels.

Looking around he saw Kitra lying crumpled at the base of the opposite wall. He crawled over to her. "Kitra?"

He reached out gingerly to touch her face, unsure if she was alive or not. A sudden flashback came to him of the planet Terminal and Cally's death. It made his hand shake. He could still hear Cally's voice echoing in his mind as she died. He banished those thoughts. Cally was dead, had been for years. That was in the past. This was the present.

Just then Kitra moaned as she stirred. Vila breathed a sigh of relief, as the ghosts of his past faded away. Thank goodness for that. He helped her sit up.

"Did it work?" she asked weakly.

"We're still alive so it must have." Vila replied with a small grin. "Otherwise, if this is Heaven I want a refund."

"I'm glad I guessed right then."

"You guessed?" Vila asked, feeling suddenly queasy.

She looked up at him with a half smile. "You don't think I do this all the time, do you?" she said, as she held up her scorched hands. Ugly burns blistered the blackened skin up to her wrists.

"My god!" Vila exclaimed. "We've got to get those fixed! Come on." He hooked an arm around her and helped her to her feet.

As he supported her to the medical unit, she spoke up, "Griffen?"

"You alright?" came his voice.

"Bit battered and bruised but nothing serious. What happened?"

"It worked. Whatever it was."

"So I gathered. How far away are we?"

"Far enough. We're just doing the calculations now."

They reached the medical unit and Vila sat her in a reclining chair, before slapping a soma pad on her arm to ease the pain. She breathed a sigh of relief as it took effect.

He smiled at her reaction. "Great stuff, isn't it? Got many a fond memory of it. Best relaxant out!"

He lathered salve on her hands to kill any infection and numb the area, before applying strips of synthetic skin to help the rejuvenation of her own tissue.

"They'll be sore for a while but it should fix up alright."

She nodded slightly, not fully aware of what was happening, letting herself drift with the relaxant he had given her.

"Kitra?" Griffen's voice came over the ship's com.

She stirred herself to answer. "Yes?"

"You'll be glad to know we're only a day from base. You know, there are less hazardous methods of getting home in a hurry. A bit of forward planning perhaps next time instead?"

"I'll keep that in mind." she replied with a weak smile. She then glanced up at Vila. "Well, it should be smooth sailing from here. She's all yours. Wake me when we get there. Oh, and try not to hit a meteor or something on the way back. I've had enough excitement for one day."

"Would I do that?" Vila said, sounding injured, as he left.

She closed her eyes and settled back comfortably. "I knew this was going to be a bad day." she muttered.


	5. Part 2: Mindblank Chapter 1

Title: Sojourn: Part 2 – Mindblank

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

Author's Notes:** This is merely some thoughts about what could have been after the final of Blake's 7**.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 1

"That's him!" Vila said, catching hold of her arm as they looked across the tarmac.

"Who?" Kitra queried, glancing at everything before them.

"Tarrant!" Vila said intensely.

"Where?" Kitra asked in exasperation. Sometimes Vila seemed to forget that she did not know his past fully nor did she know the people involved in it.

"There!" he replied, pointing out the tallest in a group of three men talking near a land mobile.

"Vila, that's a Federation space captain! Are you sure?" she said, horrified at what he was saying.

"'Course I'm sure. I'd know Tarrant anywhere!" he answered confidently.

"That's it, we're out of here!" She shook her arm free from his grip and turned on her heel to leave.

"No, wait! We've got to talk to him!" Vila reached out to stop her from going.

"Are you crazy!" Kitra said, spinning around to face him. "He's a Federation officer! Look at him!" she said, jerking her head in the group's direction. "He's wearing a Federation uniform, he's got no restraints and he's talking quite happily to other Federation troopers. We are not going over there to talk to him!"

"Tarrant wouldn't have changed sides. He hated the Federation almost as much as Blake did. Besides, he's too much of a hero to have sold out!" Vila said firmly.

"Look again, Vila. He's no prisoner." Kitra tried to impress on him the facts as she saw it. She may not have known Tarrant personally but what she could see before her indicated that if that was Tarrant before them, he would be no friend of hers.

"He may not have been captured." Vila said quickly. "He could be hiding out."

"Use your head! He was picked up at the same time as you! On Guada Prime! From what you've told me there's no way he could have escaped that trap. So he was definitely caught, just as you were. Now, you end up sweating your life away on a prison planet and he's joined the army. In my book that means your supposed 'friend' has turned his coat!" She turned away again.

"There's got to be a good reason." Vila said, trotting after her, still glancing over his shoulder.

"Probably the pay's better!" she replied, still walking.

"There's got to be a reason!" Vila insisted, as they turned another corner, taking them out of sight of the man under discussion.

"Well, I'm not interested in learning it!" Kitra snapped, halting. "I've got a price on my head and that's where I'd rather it stayed. On my head and my head connected to the rest of me! I'm not giving your 'friend' the chance to cash it in and make a profit!" She turned away again.

"Kitra, please! We're got to do some checking to find out for sure!" Vila took hold of her arm. He had to try and convince her now or he never would. This he knew.

"No!" she said, refusing to look at him although she didn't move away.

"Look, he could be just acting." Vila began to think quickly. His fingers weren't the only thing that was nimble, his brain could be also, if needed. "He might have got away like me. And you've always said that the safest place to hide is in full view of what you're hiding from. Isn't that the Federation army?"

"That doesn't mean that I'd join!"

"But he might not have! That's how Avon first met him on the Liberator! He was masquerading as a Federation space captain back then! He could be doing the same now! Kitra, we've got to find out for sure. We've come this far. Please?"

Vila was pleading with her now, and she felt her resolve weakening. She had come to like and care about Vila a great deal, like he was a wayward child or a younger brother, although he was the elder. She didn't like to see his hopes of finding Tarrant alive shattered after the long search. She sighed as she looked at his face, a face trying to hide the fear that she might be right after all, but still needing to know. She knew she would do it for his sake.

"All right. To put your mind at rest we'll see what we can find out. But no risks! The first hint of trouble and we're out of here, no hesitating, no last minutes reprieves and no arguments! If he's joined the Federation we can't afford the chance of being betrayed. And you don't make any direct contact until we've got a better idea of the whole picture!"

"That's all I ask." Vila said with a grateful smile, as they continued on their way back to their ship.

"So, what have you found out, Orac?" Kitra asked, perching on the edge of the console next to him two days later. Vila was seated in a flight chair with his feet on the boards. That was a habit that Kitra hadn't been able to break in him.

"I have gone to a great deal of trouble to obtain this information. It has taken up a large measure of my valuable time which could have been spent on research that would have been exceedingly more enlightening and productive."

"Okay, we're eternally grateful. Now what have you got?"

"Tracing backwards I learned that a prisoner matching the description of Del Tarrant was taken to the penal colony on Thursten. The prisoners there are used for slave labour in the ballan mines."

"Ballan?" Vila asked.

"A crystalline substance that is native to this planet. It has high covalent properties and when mixed with ..."

"Yes, yes, we don't need a chemistry lesson," Kitra interrupted before Orac could go on with a lengthy explanation. "Just the details we want. What next?"

"Very well. After a period of six months said prisoner was registered for termination."

"Then he's dead!" Vila said softly into the silence.

"That is not a certainty." came Orac's surprising reply.

"But you said..."

"I said that a prisoner who was possibly Tarrant was registered for termination. There is no follow-up report as to termination being carried out. However, the day before the termination date a ship from the High Council was logged as arriving, cargo collected and departed. After that departure, said prisoner was no longer found in the colony's files."

"Well, that's pretty usual after a termination." Kitra said turning away. "If he's dead they will hardly have any updates on his presence there."

"The prisoner's number is not found on any of the files." Orac put in firmly. The tone of his voice indicated that they were missing something, something important.

Kitra paused, and turned to look at Orac with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. The files I originally obtained Tarrant's number from are no longer available for general viewing. They were obsolete back-ups stored in the old complex computer that is scheduled for destruction in approximately 6 hours, 32.63 minutes. All the files currently available for scrutiny do not register this number."

"But why?" Vila asked, puzzled. "Why was his file removed once he was killed?"

"Because he wasn't killed, was he, Orac?" Kitra said, coming closer and leaning her hands on his box. "A ship from the High Council arrives just before termination and once it's gone Tarrant disappears from the files. Cargo was collected, Orac, you said. Human cargo?"

"That information was not available. But it does seem most likely given the circumstances."

"Huh?" Vila queried, bewildered.

"Don't you see, Vila?" Kitra said, turning to him with a grim smile on her face. "Tarrant was there, on that penal colony, and then he was wiped out of existence as though he had never been. Why?"

Vila's face lit up as understanding dawned. "He wasn't killed at all! He was taken by that ship!"

"Certainly looks like it."

"But where? And why?"

Kitra shook her head. "I don't know. Orac, keep looking. See if you can match Tarrant's description with any Federation space captain currently serving and assigned to this planet. If that's not in the files, you'll have to do it the hard way and try and trace the movements of that High Council ship once it left the penal colony on Thursten."

"Oh, very well. However, I must warn you that this may take some time."

"Take however long is needed. Just get it right! We can't afford any mistakes here."

"I wish to point out that I am incapable of making mistakes!" Orac stated emphatically.

"Just do it right!" Kitra pressed.

"Of course." came Orac's stuffy agreement. Kitra could almost hear his snort of contempt at her suggestion that he could do anything but.

"What do you make of this?" Vila asked, coming to stand by her side.

"I don't know for certain," she replied, shaking her head. "All I'm sure of is that Tarrant wasn't killed on that planet."

"Then it could have been him we saw!" Vila said getting excited.

"Not necessarily!" Kitra said sharply. She had to make sure that she kept Vila's eagerness curbed until they had all the facts. "It could be a clone, an android, anything, They may even know we're here and he's been set out as bait for a trap for you." Vila paled at that thought. Good, she thought. If he's scared he's less likely to do something stupid. She continued out loud. "And even if it is actually him, it still doesn't explain what he's doing working for the Federation."

"From what I can gather," Orac said. "The ship left Thursten and did not return to Command Headquarters but detoured to the planet Veren."

"What's there?" Kitra asked.

"It is an uninhabited planet of a temperate climate the Federation surveyed and it was decided not to colonise it as it had no particular use. There was little flora or fauna, no specific minerals, and therefore nothing of use to them. However, further checking of the Federation memory banks shows that a research centre was established there for a short time."

"Researching what?" Vila asked.

"The intricacies of the mind," Vila and Kitra looked at each other as Orac continued. "The main stream their research was taking was in mind control, supposedly to be used on felons so they can be released back into society."

"Or for purposes of conquering other worlds," Kitra said grimly.

"Possibly." was Orac's reply.

"And the ship from Thursten went straight there?" Vila queried.

"That is correct."

"Can you access their files? Check if Tarrant was brought in?" Vila asked excitedly.

"I shall endeavour to do so and inform you when I have found anything pertaining to this matter."

"This is great!" Vila said, excitedly. "That's Tarrant out there! They've just messed with his mind so he doesn't remember who he is or what happened before. It might have improved him, you know. We've done it!" He beamed at Kitra and went off happily with a bounce in his step. Kitra merely looked after him.

"So, why aren't you jumping for joy?" Griffen asked her. "Don't believe it's going to be okay?"

"Do you?" she threw back sharply.

"Not really." Griffen replied. "Although Vila does. What makes you think differently?"

"I can't see the Federation letting someone like Tarrant, a known rebel from their most wanted list, out to roam the galaxy freely if they thought there was any chance what-so-ever of him regaining his memory. He'd be dangerous as a free man with all his memories returned. We'll have to see what other information Orac can turn up. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Maybe it can be reversed with an operation. You might have to use your talents on this one."

"I haven't used my medical skills for a long time, Kitra. And I'm not really in a position to do so anymore."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've been your 'hands'." she said, brushing aside his excuses. "Anyway, we'll have to wait until we've got more information. I just hope Vila doesn't do anything stupid in the meantime."

"Tarrant?" Vila queried hesitantly, looking at the straight back before him.

"Excuse me?" Tarrant turned around. He looked Vila up and down. "Who are you?"

"Ah, you are Del Tarrant? Aren't you?"

"My name is Saran Turak, Federation space captain. And I repeat, who are you?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. Sorry to trouble you." Vila began to back away.

Tarrant took a threatening step closer. "I'm not going to ask again. Who are you?"

"Look, I'm really sorry. I just thought you were someone I once knew. No harm down."

"Papers!" Tarrant snapped, holding out his hand.

Vila patted himself down. "Ah, I seem to have left them in my other suit. You know how it is, forget to empty your pockets before washing. You don't have to worry though. They're all in order."

"I'll be the judge of that! You know it's an offence to be found without your papers. You're in for a lot of trouble."

"Oh, come on. I swear I only stepped out for a breath of fresh air. I hadn't intended going anywhere. I just thought I recognised you. I was wrong!"

"I don't really care what you thought. You're coming with me. This way!" Tarrant drew his sidearm and motioned with it for Vila to proceed him. Vila raised his hands, mind racing ahead to think of a way out of this predicament.

"Honestly, that's not necessary. I'll come quietly. I'm not going to try anything." His pleading manner seemed sincere enough to make Tarrant relax a little.

A sound to his left made Tarrant glance that way for a moment, but a moment was all Vila needed. The iron bar he had kept hidden by the side of his legs rang resoundingly against Tarrant's head and he slumped to the ground.

Vila quickly dropped beside him and looked around to make sure that no-body had noticed them. There was no sign of any alarm. He rolled Tarrant over with some difficulty and checked his pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief to feel the strong beat under his fingers. He had been concerned that he could have struck Tarrant too hard and killed him. That brought back unpleasant memories of the Muller affair. He strained and pulled Tarrant to his feet and draped a limp arm across his shoulders. He touched the communicator on his chest and spoke into it softly and urgently. "Kitra, I need help. Now!"

"What's up?" Her voice came faintly to him.

"No time to explain! Get a vehicle out to me along the north east road of the launch mat. Hurry!"

"On its way!"

He stayed in the shadows of the warehouses as best he could, still dragging Tarrant's unconscious form. He hoped that anyone who saw them would assume he was merely helping an inebriated friend home.

Finally he heard the car arriving and moved towards it. The door rose to reveal an empty interior. This didn't upset Vila as he bundled his burden inside. It was being controlled automatically by Griffen from the ship so it was perfectly safe. He pushed the throttle to the full position and roared back to the ship, wondering how fast he would have to talk to prevent Kitra from killing him.

"You fool!" Kitra shouted at him, surveying the limp form at his feet. "You damn idiot! I told you to leave it alone!"

"I just wanted to talk to him!" Vila said defensively, although he backed up a step away from the anger in her eyes.

"Don't you ever think! Griffen!" she spun around, stamping back to the flight deck. "Start firing up the engines and clearing us for lift off! Orac, monitor every communication on the base! Anything you hear about a missing person or the first alarm that goes off, tell me! You," she spun back to face Vila, glaring at him. "Lock that," pointing at Tarrant's unconscious form, "in the cargo hold and get back here."

As Vila dragged Tarrant towards the door she added, "So help me, Vila, if we get caught for this I'll kill you myself!"

As the door swished shut behind him he wasn't too sure that she didn't mean that.

Kitra slammed herself into her flight chair and looked over the board, rage still coursing through her veins and narrowing her vision. She took a deep breath and with an effort tried to control herself and release her hunter vision. Vila truly didn't know how close he had come to dying back there.

"Nothing?" she asked Orac in a voice that sounded close to normal.

"There have been no abnormalities registered as of yet. However, my advice would be to remove yourself from this planet before anyone does raise the alarm."

"My thoughts exactly. Griffen?"

"Nearly ready, clearance is coming through, although they are asking why we're cutting our stay short. We were down for another two days."

"Tell them we're homesick! Just get us out of here!" Her nerves and muscles were strung tight.

"Strap yourself in, we're lifting off." Griffen at least understood.

At that moment, Vila came in at a run and threw himself into a chair. He could feel her glare seeming to burn into his back and subconsciously crouched down in his seat, as though seeking protection. He knew he would be in for it when they reached the base.

Kitra only leant back with a sigh once they had cleared the planet and were on the homeward stretch.


	6. Part 2 Chapter 2

Title: Sojourn: Part 2 – Mindblank

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 2

"Nothing. He just doesn't remember anything." Vila said mournfully as he sat down.

"I told you it would be unlikely that he would. You know he's been conditioned." Kitra didn't sound too sympathetic.

Vila had been treading very warily around her since their unexpected departure to return home. It was only once they had arrived back at base that she explained to him very slowly and carefully, and in no uncertain terms, to never do such a thing again or he would be dead, and she was speaking metaphorically. He often forgot that she wasn't quite human and his mind was still reeling from his near brush with death, even if he had been unaware of it at the time.

"So what do we do?" he asked her, still hoping for some assistance from her. Since arriving back, she had told him that Tarrant was his problem and it was up to him to deal with it. So far he had had no luck.

"If he's not going to remember, you'll have to kill him." she stated flatly.

Vila paled at that. "I can't do that!"

"Vila, do you never think!" Kitra said in exasperation, the force behind her voice making him start nervously. He still expected her to pounce on him at any moment. "We can't just let him go!"

"He was unconscious getting here! He doesn't know where he is. We just need to put him under again and drop him off on any planet." Vila tried to steer her away from that last final statement.

"Don't be a bigger fool than you already are!" she spat at him. "What's the first thing he's going to do? Report to Federation Headquarters, tell them he was kidnapped by some people, one of them specifically named Vila, who was insisting that he was someone called Del Tarrant. And what do you think his superiors are going to do? Just leave it? Someone went to a lot of trouble to wipe his memories out and that someone is probably still around, and that is someone you don't want poking around to see where you are! And I don't need your problems! Why don't you ever listen to what you're told?" She narrowed her eyes. "He dies."

"No!" Vila said sharply, grabbing her arm, risking it. He saw her inner lid flick back to reveal the slitted pupil and the muscles in her arm tense but he held on, looking her in the eye pleadingly. "Please, Kitra. Help me. We've got to try something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know! But there's got to be something we can do! Something to jog his memory maybe? Orac, do you have any bright ideas?"

"Your rudimentary theory has some slight merit in this case. If there were some way of enforcing memories of incidents, people, and so on, from Tarrant's previous memories into his mind, with some form of appropriately corresponding sight, sound or emotion, there may be some chance of triggering the repressed memories and breaking the mind blocks." was Orac's reply.

"Could we do that?" Vila asked Kitra. "I've got most of the same memories as he has from what we did, that sort of thing. Do you have some machine that we could use? Some way of using my memories to try and trigger his?"

Kitra shook her head. "Not a thing. We're not that well equipped here."

"Kitra," Griffen said from the couch where his globe lay. "You could do it. You don't need a machine."

She glanced across the room at him. "You would have to remind me."

"What does he mean?" Vila asked her, looking at the two of them.

"Nothing." she answered shortly, pulling away from him.

He held on tighter. "Come on, Kitra! Look, I'm begging you. If you know of someway to help Tarrant can't you at least try? For me? Just this once? I swear I'll never ask another favour from you again. You can even keep my share of the profits from now on. I won't ask for anything!"

Kitra looked into his pleading face and couldn't deny him any longer. She knew he needed to do his utmost best to help Tarrant. Whatever Vila thought of Tarrant personally, whether he liked him or not, they were almost like family. After everything they had been through together that was to be expected.

She sighed. Family was important - whether they were family by blood or not. And he was willing to give up all his wealth. That was more telling than anything else. She shook her head in resignation. For his sake she would have to try, however distasteful it was for her.

"Alright, we'll try. I don't know why I let you talk me into these things, Vila. One day you're going to get me killed."

"I don't generally have that problem. You should talk to Avon about that one." Vila replied dryly, a smile spreading over his face at her acceptance.

"Okay, start talking," she said as she sat down next to Griffen, with a glare at him. "Tell me about the people you met, what they looked like, how they acted, what their relationship with Tarrant was, everything. I want people and incidents that would have evoked any type of strong emotional reaction in him at the time, or even maybe after. I need to know what sort of emotion he was or might have been feeling at each instance."

"What are you going to do?" Vila queried, curious as to how she intended to break the mind block.

"I'm going to try projecting those images and emotions into his mind. That's all I can do." was her answer.

Vila puzzled on this for a moment. "You're a telepath?" Vila said, surprised as he had seen no evidence of this ability in her before.

She shook her head. "No, I'm an empath."

"Eh?" he said, blankly.

"We don't have time, Vila. Just start talking. Orac, flood the medical unit with anaesthetic and knock our 'guest' out, will you? Then ventilate it enough for us to get in to put him out properly."

"It is done."

She sat on the bed next to Tarrant's unconscious form. Placing two fingers lightly on his forehead, she closed her eyes and concentrated.

Images rushed from her mind to his, falling quickly, one after the other, each accompanied by varying emotions from love, hate, pain, guilt, lust, envy; all the emotions, both good and bad.

She kept up the bombardment over and over again, finishing each time with the final confrontation on Guada Prime. Vila's memories only covered up to the time he himself was shot. How the others fared afterwards he didn't know, but Kitra hoped that Vila's emotions were pretty much what the others were experiencing and it would be enough to stir up Tarrant's memories of that time. Reaching the end once more she continued the flow again.

Vila sat quietly, gnawing on a fingernail. He could see sweat beginning to bead on Kitra's forehead although she hadn't moved or made any sound since she had begun more than an hour ago. Although she wasn't moving physically he could almost feel the effort she was putting into this endeavour mentally.

He still didn't fully comprehend what it was she was doing, but it was their only hope now of restoring Tarrant's memories. If this didn't work, he would have no choice but to abide by her decision and that would be to kill Tarrant, and Vila knew that it would have to be him to do it. Tarrant was his problem; to resolve or destroy. He didn't want to think of that unnerving possibility and so instead prayed to what ever gods may exist that she would be successful.

She ran the sequence again, letting it flow smoothly from her mind to Tarrant's. The memories seemed to simply fall into a void, to be swallowed up in the emptiness, not even creating a ripple in the darkness.

She was coming to the end of Vila's final memory when suddenly, instead of ceasing at Vila's fall, she felt her mind swept up in a new stream. She saw a blond female dressed in grey spin around as she was shot. Then she felt as though she were running, heard in her mind a voice call out 'Avon!', and then felt agonising pain shoot through her side, and she screamed.

From his corner, Vila saw her brow suddenly crease in a frown and her outstretched hand trembled slightly. The tension in the room seemed to rise. Then suddenly she threw her head back as her body arched and she cried out as if in pain as she was literally flung across the room to land in a heap against the far wall.

"Kitra!" Vila cried, hurrying to her side. She had her hands to her head, moaning. "Kitra, are you alright? Did it work?"

"Don't know," she gasped out, looking up at him. Her face still registered shock and pain, and her eyes were feverish bright. She closed them with another moan, struggling to get to her feet, using the wall to support herself.

"Oh, my head! It hurts!" and her voice was filled with pain also. One hand still clutched her head and her eyes were squeezed shut.

"What happened?" Vila asked, reaching out to draw her away from the wall and hold her upright.

"Tarrant took hold of the memories. He played it out, how he was shot on Guada Prime. It happened too fast, I couldn't get out. He caught me up in it."

He supported her as she pressed her hands to her temples to ease the pain still throbbing through her mind.

"Then it worked!" Vila said, feeling joyful for the success.

She shook her head, wincing as that sent pain shooting through her. "Not sure. It could have been a fluke, just a leakage through the mind block. It may not have done anything else. You can't trust in it. Oh, gods! I'm going to pass out!" She swayed dangerously for a moment.

"What can I get you? Do you need some medication?" Vila queried, worried about her.

"No." she murmured, taking small unsteady steps with his assistance. "Nothing in the med unit can help me. Need to sleep."

"I'll help you back to your room." he said, letting her lean more of her weight on him.

She could barely stay on her feet as they made their way through the corridors, and more than once had to stop as the pain became too much and it seemed she would collapse. Vila didn't really understand what was wrong. Cally never seemed to have any problems with using her telepathy, certainly she never experienced any pain like this. He managed to get Kitra to her room and laid her down. Her eyes were screwed tight and she moaned softly. He suddenly had an idea and rushed back to the medical unit, grabbed what he wanted and ran back to her room.

Kitra breathed a sigh of relief as a cool patch was laid on her arm. She cracked her eyes open a fraction to see Vila standing by the bed.

"Pain killer, with a relaxant," Vila said with a smile to her. "Thought it would help."

"Thank you," she whispered. "It does." She took a deep breath and spoke again. "I'm going to sleep for quite a while. Don't be concerned if you can't wake me. Griffen understands." She focused on him with some difficulty. "Lock Tarrant up and keep an eye on him. Don't trust him. We don't know if any good's been done or what to expect. Okay?"

"All right," Vila agreed. She just looked at him. "All right!" he said again, more forcefully. She still didn't look as though she believed him but he could see she was getting weak again.

"Get Orac to check on him," she added, closing her eyes. He could see her body relax as she slipped into sleep.

"Vila? Is that you?" the voice questioned in disbelief.

"Tarrant?"

"What's going on, Vila? Will you open this door!" a thump from the other side emphasised the point.

"I don't think I should just yet." Vila said cautiously, taking heed of Kitra's warning. Tarrant certainly sounded angry.

"Vila, if you don't open this door, when I get out I'm going to personally smear what little brains you have over it!" Another thump, stronger this time.

"That's Tarrant, all right," Vila muttered resignedly, palming open the door. Kitra was really going to kill him this time.

Tarrant stood glaring on the other side. "Just what the hell are you playing at? And where are we?" he snapped, glancing around.

"Come on." Vila said, turning away and beckoning Tarrant to follow him. "It's a long story and I think you'll want a drink after it."

"I can't believe it." Tarrant said, staring into space. "Four years."

"Well, the consolation is that you didn't even notice those years. Where as I was frying for three of them!" Vila said, handing him a drink.

"What of the others?" Tarrant asked, accepting the glass.

"Dayna's dead." a voice came from the doorway behind him.

Tarrant spun in his seat, hand going to his side where a gun would have hung, as he faced the girl standing in the doorway, drawn gun pointed at him.

"Kitra!" Vila said quickly, standing and moving over to her side.

She glanced sideways at him. "Don't you ever do as you're told?" she said.

"It's alright. He's Tarrant again, back to normal. It worked. Honest." Vila tried to reassure her.

She walked further into the room, Vila hovering anxiously at her side. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I have an headache. It'll pass."

"Anything I can do?" he asked, hoping to placate her. He didn't see any signs of her being in a killing rage and he hoped he could prevent it coming to that.

"A drink would be nice."

Vila rapidly filled a glass and handed it to her, which she accepted with a 'thank you' and sat down. The gun remained pointing at Tarrant.

He flashed one of his charming smiles at her. "So you're Vila's mysterious partner?" he said.

"I wouldn't have used the word 'mysterious'," was her noncommittal reply.

"Well, he said you were the one responsible for my getting my memory back."

She shrugged as she took a sip of the wine. "Let's just say I simply gave you a nudge in the right direction."

"A nudge that laid you out for nearly two days," Vila put in dryly, hoping to give Tarrant the hint that what she had done for him had been at a rather high cost to herself. Vila also knew that he now had a debt to her as she had done it for his sake and not hers.

"I guess that makes me indebted to you," Tarrant said.

Kitra leant back. "Don't worry. I'll collect some day."

Tarrant looked more closely at her and found he had to look away from her flat stare as he found it unnerving. He had felt hunted before, many times whilst travelling with Vila and the others. He knew that feeling too well. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

"You said Dayna's dead. What makes you think so?"

"From what Vila told me. The rest of you were shot once the Federation had broken into the base on Guada Prime. Dayna was shot by a traitor before that happened. Obviously the other troopers weren't carrying standard issue guns or you would all be dead. Dayna wasn't so lucky."

Tarrant could do nothing but agree with her logic and felt a pang of sorrow for Dayna's death. He had had no opportunity to grieve for her in the past four years. It was long overdue.

"And the others?" Before he began his grieving he wanted to know for how many it would be.

"Presumably they could be still alive, scattered across the galaxy as you two were. Why the Federation didn't just kill you, I don't know. Rather foolish of them."

Tarrant smiled grimly. "You would have done differently?"

"Of course. You never leave an enemy alive. It would have been much more practical to have killed you all outright. I don't see the point in leaving you alive with the possibility that you might escape and cause trouble. Much simpler to just kill you."

"Doesn't she remind you of someone?" Vila put in to Tarrant pointedly, who glanced over to him before nodding agreement.

"Yes," he replied, thinking of Avon. He took another sip from his drink. "So you think the others are alive?"

"Unless they've died in the ensuing years."

"So you could find them?"

She shrugged. "Who knows? It's taken a long time to track you down. Nearly a year. The other two aren't going to be any easier, I don't imagine. The Federation has been covering its tracks very carefully. We're following the tiniest leads that appear and, as in your case, we sometimes have to work backwards and try to piece together the smatterings of information Orac can pick up."

That had been another pleasant surprise for Tarrant, to find not only Vila alive but also to have Orac here in good working condition. He was not generally a superstitious person but he could not help but feel that some higher power was manoeuvring things to bring them all together again. Although, it wouldn't be all if Dayna was dead as it was believed. But that did leave the other two. Two more possibilities.

"So have you got anything to work on at the moment?" he asked.

"I had a word with Orac just before I came in. He's back to following a lead that he thinks may lead to Soolin. It's about as vague as yours was, but it's the best he's got. There's been a great deal of upheaval over the past few years. The government has been purged a couple of times and I can take a pretty good guess on whose orders. Files and data have been destroyed or lost very conveniently. It's making Orac's job that much harder."

"So we just have to wait till he can come up with something definite." Tarrant said, glancing down in resignation. He had never been good at waiting.

"No," she said, startling him. She stood up and holstered her gun. "On the contrary, we work." She placed her glass on the bench before turning to look back at Tarrant. "I run a business, and there are no freeloaders. I understand you're supposed to be a pretty good pilot?" She flashed him a dazzling, seductive smile that stunned him. "Care to show me?"

"But what do you really know about her?" Tarrant insisted, following Vila into the sitting area.

"I know enough, Tarrant," Vila repeated once more, automatically heading for the wine. He retrieved a bottle and two glasses and poured. "She saved my life, and she's never asked for anything in return."

"She makes you work for her! How can you say she hasn't asked anything of you?"

Vila shook his head, "No, she made an offer, and I accepted. She wasn't going to do anything to me if I had refused. She didn't even know who I was at that time."

"I don't like it!" Tarrant paced. He had been awake and working with them for nearly a week now. They had gone out on a few jobs in that time and he had to admit that Kitra was very organised and good at what she did. He had found that he was a little jealous of how well she and Vila appeared to work together. Of course, they had been a team for a while now but Tarrant didn't like feeling like the 'new boy' on the block. It irked him.

Vila watched him over the rim of the glass. He didn't understand why Tarrant was still going on about Kitra and what her ulterior motives must be. He liked Kitra, always had. Kitra had helped him. So what was Tarrant's problem?

"Tarrant, stop worrying! She's fine. If she had wanted to do anything to us she could have at any time. Why would she have gone to all the trouble of breaking your conditioning if she was just going to throw back to the Federation? You were already in the Federation!"

"It just seems too convenient!" Tarrant spun around to glare at Vila. "Meeting you, finding Orac, being able to help me. How could she do that? If it was that simple to break the conditioning there's no way the Federation would have let me out!"

"Believe me, whatever she did to help you was not easy!" Vila said forcefully. "I saw what she went through; it looked like it nearly killed her."

"But we know nothing about her! You've been with her for nearly a year and you don't even know what planet she's from, has she any family, where she was educated, how she became a smuggler, nothing! She got to be a Federation agent!"

"Is it really that important to know those things?" They both turned to look towards the door to see Kitra standing there. How long she had been there they didn't know. She was able to move so quietly they frequently were surprised by her appearance.

Tarrant's jaw set in a stubborn line. "Yes, it is. We've been on the run a long time, and there are others besides the Federation that would think they could profit in some way if they had their hands on any of us."

"I think you're over-estimating your value. There's been a lot of time gone by since you were the top of the Federation's most wanted list. You're old news."

"Even if we are, it's not exactly safe for us to be wandering around blithely through the universe."

"True," she acknowledged, "but we are hardly doing that at the moment. You could hardly call a couple of jobs in one sector advertising your presence."

"So, what about you?" Tarrant asked, "What do you get out of this?"

"Me?" she shrugged, "Peace and quiet from Vila now that he's found you." She looked at him with narrowing eyes. "Although I'm beginning to wonder if it was worth it."

Tarrant glared back at her. "That's hardly an answer. We have no idea of anything about you. You may have bamboozled Vila, that's not hard to do, he's pretty gullible, but you're not going to fool me so easily. I want to know just who the hell you are and what you can do. And I want the truth!"

"The truth is sometimes nothing more than a state of mind."

"Stop talking in riddles and get to the point!"

"Tarrant..." Vila said warningly, but a sharp glance from Kitra stopped his words.

Her gaze centred back on Tarrant where he stood. "So you want to know more about me?" her voice was dangerously low, almost husky. "Well then, perhaps we can satisfy your curiosity."

She walked around behind the couch, a half smile on her face. "You see, I'm not exactly what you would call 'human', Tarrant. I know you've met aliens before. After all, Cally was an alien also. She was from Auron. They are very human, in every way, except for their telepathic abilities. You know I'm not telepathic, but empathic. Not an overly useful function, and more often than not more of a hindrance than a help. So you know I'm also an alien, but I don't think you really have any idea just how much so. I'm a Talurian and we are definitely not 'human', except in the general physical sense."

She moved across to the bar, ignoring Vila standing behind it. "On Taluria we evolved through genetic modification performed in our ancient past. They mixed genes from humans and...felines."

She was now facing him across the table. "See these?" she said, stretching her gloved hand out in front of her. "Have you not wondered why I wear gloves so often? It could hardly be because I have cold hands."

As she was speaking she tugged each finger of the glove loose and slipped it off. "I wear them to hide my hands, so I can do certain things. Like this," She raised her hand suddenly to eye level and talons sprang from her finger tips.

Tarrant felt himself jerk back in shock. The smile never left her face. "They are very convenient, you know," she said, lowering her hand and looking down at it as she turned it this way and that. "That's how I can manage to pick locks. I don't need to worry about carrying cumbersome tools with me. They are very strong and don't break easily." She flexed them, and Tarrant felt himself flinch as he watched those deadly claws retract and then reappear as she continued to speak. "And they are a much more effective weapon. I can kill a person very easily with these and they never know it's about to happen."

She began to walk across the room to the doorway. "But that's not the only advantage I hold from my heritage." Stopping, she turned to look at Tarrant again. "I have a few others. You see, felines are more instinctive than primates, and we have retained many of those instincts. The thrill of the hunt, the search for prey, is still strong within us. You don't want to get in the way of that.

"Do you want to know what else I can do?" The room was plunged into darkness as she palmed the lights off. "Can you see in the dark, Tarrant?" Her voice came out of the blackness.

Tarrant stood stock still. "What exactly are you trying to prove?" he said, turning his head, trying to pin point where she was.

"Merely that you are the one at a distinct disadvantage here." Her voice appeared to come from the other side of the room. "Why don't you move around, Tarrant? Are you saying that you can't? That you can't see? It really isn't that dark in here, you know," Now her voice appeared to be somewhere in front of him. "I can move around this room quite easily. I wouldn't bump into a single item. I could pour a glass of wine without spilling a drop," and he heard the clink of glass touching glass. "Or I could open your jugular before you even realised." The hiss of her voice was behind him near his ear and a sharp point was pressed against the skin under his chin. His head stretched back in response to that pressure and he could feel his own pulse moving the talon up and down. "You could die here, Tarrant. Or anywhere. I could always kill you in the dark. For darkness is MY daylight."

The point was suddenly gone from his throat and the lights came on to show her standing opposite him. Vila stood at the doorway, obviously being the one to turn the lights on. She threw a side long glance towards him but didn't say anything. Tarrant took a deep breath and her eyes came back to his face.

"Look closely, Tarrant, look very closely," She stepped toward to him. He refused to flinch back from her approach although he could still feel the phantom pressure on his neck. He looked down at her face and she raised her eyes to meet his. As he watched it appeared that a veil lifted from across her eyes and he found himself looking into two golden eyes with slitted pupils that narrowed in the light.

"I am far less 'human' than you could know. Never forget that." she whispered to him softly. And the veil dropped down and her eyes appeared normal once more before she turned from him.

She walked over to the bar where she picked up a filled glass whilst Vila moved to Tarrant's side holding out another. "I did try to warn you." he said, with a small shrug. "Have a glass."

Tarrant nodded and took the drink, immediately downing half of it.

Vila watched critically before saying. "Here, take the bottle instead."


	7. Part 2 Chapter 3

Title: Sojourn: Part 2 – Mindblank

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 3

"Well, I've been in worse places." Kitra said, shifting position awkwardly. "Though at the moment I can't think of any."

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Tarrant whispered, glancing around.

She shook her head. "Don't know. I had hoped to avoid this problem."

"What..."

"Shhh!" Kitra grabbed Tarrant's shoulder to pull him back further into the shadows of the overhanging rocks as a light passed by and sounds could be heard in the distance. They waited a moment before silence settled once more.

Tarrant became aware that he was pressed up closely against Kitra, his arms around her as he supported his weight, their faces close together. He could see her still peering into the darkness, knew she was using all her senses to detect any danger to them. He felt himself responding to her closeness. Even the fact that she was an alien didn't bother him. He felt her sigh, feeling her breasts press against his chest for a moment and her warm breath brush his cheek, then she turned her head to face him, her lips parted to speak. But something she saw in his face stopped her words. Before she could do anything else Tarrant bent his head and kissed her. Her lips were soft and full, and after a moments hesitation he felt her hands move around his back.

The kiss was long and lingering. Tarrant finally raised his head to look at her. Her eyes showed the slit pupil but this alieness merely served to make her seem that much more exotic.

He suddenly felt her stiffen, her hands tightening in warning on his back as her head turned and her eyes searched the darkness. He all but held his breath as he lay there pressed closely against her. A light could be seen jumping around in the darkness and then suddenly a pair of boots appeared before them, level with their eyes. They stopped there. Tarrant could feel Kitra tensed for action if need be, although neither of them dared make any movement. Then the boots stepped away to vanish into the darkness. Tarrant remained still until he felt Kitra relax and her eyes came back to his face.

"Close call." he whispered, moving away from her carefully, trying not to make too much noise and get comfortable in their limited space.

"We'll have to wait till things die down before moving out." she said, glancing back into the night.

"What about Vila?" Tarrant asked.

"Griffen will watch him. He's used to it." She curled herself into a ball, snuggled up against his side. "Try to get some sleep." came her muffled words.

Tarrant mentally shrugged and moved to a more comfortable position, half curled around her. The warmth of her body was welcome and he soon dozed off.

"So, what's ours?" Tarrant queried.

Kitra scanned the room and began to lift covers to peer at the contents underneath. "Bel said it would be here. We'll just have to find it."

"That's not very good organisation."

Kitra snorted. "Bel has never been known for his 'good' organisation."

They moved around the room, examining everything, making their way towards the back of the complex. There was a large covered object, obviously a ship of some sort. Tarrant merely glanced at it and then ignored it. Kitra looked, then gazed around the room before bringing her gaze back to it. She shook her head slowly.

Tarrant noticed that she was standing still. "What's up?"

"I've found our cargo. Damn Bel to the depths of Tantaras!" she said, with venom.

She stalked over to the ship and cut the cords with a swipe of a vibro-blade, ripping the covering away. There was a small jump ship, only suitable for short planetary hops and limited deep space travel.

Tarrant came to her side. "What do you mean? You said the cargo was for ship components."

"Exactly. Bel just forgot to mention one thing. The components are still attached to the ship!"

"You mean that's our cargo?" Tarrant asked, pointing at the ship.

"That's our cargo." Kitra confirmed. "When I see Bel I'm going to flay him alive for this stunt!"

"Kitra," the communicator chimed.

"Yes?"

"We've got trouble." Griffen said.

"What?"

"Pursuit ships. Two of them. And coming in fast!" came Vila's voice.

"Are they on a routine patrol?"

"Not a chance. They're coming right here!"

"Damn!" Kitra thought for a moment before giving her orders. "Get 'Pegasus' out of here. Head for the other side of the planet. Have they detected you yet?"

"I don't think so, but it won't be much longer." Griffen replied.

"Then go now. We'll meet you shortly."

"Let's go," Tarrant said, moving towards the door.

"No!"

"What?"

"I'm damned if I'm going to leave empty handed!" Kitra spat.

"Are you mad?" Tarrant said. "There are two pursuit ships coming in! We have to get back to the drop ship and get the hell out of here!"

"Not without my cargo!"

"It's not worth it!"

"Yes, it is! If we don't produce goods at the end of this trip we'll have more than the Federation looking for us. My word is my bond, and I made a deal!"

"We don't have time to get what we want!"

"We're not going to. You claim you're the best pilot out. Now you can prove it. We're taking the whole damn ship!"

"We don't even know if it'll fly!"

"Then you had better hurry up and check, hadn't you?" Kitra put in pointedly. "I'll fly cover for you if need be but you'll have plenty of opportunity to show off some of your fancy flying."

Tarrant could hardly believe what he was hearing but with Kitra standing there calmly he had no choice but to believe that she was being completely serious. He shook his head in amazement and then with a reckless grin ran to the ship.

Slipping inside he began to check the instrumentation. It appeared to be in order, although he had no guarantee that everything was working. Slowly he began to fire up the engines.

"Kit, you've got to get out of there!" Griffen's voice reached her over the roar of the engines.

"What's wrong?"

"Those ships are going to be landing right where you are in minutes! They seem to know exactly where you'll be!"

"I had already guessed as much. We've been double crossed."

"I can't believe that Bel would do that!" Griffen said firmly.

"Everyone's got his price, Griffen. Although I do tend to agree with you. I don't think Bel did have a hand in it. I have a feeling that it came from the other end." The engines took on a new note as they began reaching full capacity. "We'll sort it out later!" Kitra shouted so Griffen could hear. "Keep the ship out of sight, feed the co-ordinates to the drop ship. I'll run cover for Tarrant."

Tarrant dropped from the underbelly of the ship and ran to her. "Everything appears to be functional. Do you want me to break through the roof?"

"You don't have any armoury?"

"Nothing!"

"Then do it! We've got to leave now! The pursuit ships will be landing and I've got to make it back to the drop ship! Just get off the ground and head for open space, Griffen will give you the co-ordinates. Just go and don't stop!"

"What about you?"

"I'll run interference in case those pursuit ships catch on quicker than I hope! Now go!"

Tarrant nodded and ran back to his ship whilst Kitra turned her back and sprinted out of the warehouse and back to the drop ship. Glancing upwards she made out two specks in the sky descending rapidly. The pursuit ships. Throwing herself into the drop ship her fingers raced over the controls, firing up the engines and arming the small laser cannon, the only weaponry the ship had. It wasn't designed as a fighting ship. She took off as soon as the ship was ready and shot past the pursuit ships before they could bring to bear on her. Unfortunately, it didn't take them long to cease descending and begin the ascent to follow.

"Griffen, have you got Tarrant?"

"Not yet. We have him on the detector but it'll be a few more minutes."

"Tell him to hurry up. And get the battle computers on line."

"Will do."

Kitra turned and raced head on to the rising pursuit ships. They were larger than the drop ship and took longer to build up speed. So whilst they were sluggishly attempting to match her momentum she had more manoeuvrability than they. She fired a few laser blasts, striking both ships. She could not do a great deal of damage unless it was a very lucky shot, but she could cause a distraction and maybe gain some time for Tarrant and herself. She turned again and shot out to deeper space.

"Do you read me, Kitra?" Tarrant's voice came to her.

"Tarrant?" she replied, surprised.

"I managed to patch in the communications station. I didn't know if I would pick up the correct frequency. You okay?"

"At the moment." she glanced down at the panel in front of her, seeing the specks drawing closer. "Though that could be debateable shortly!"

"This ship is flying like a slug! It's barely pushing over the sixty percentile. I can't keep up with you."

Kitra checked her screen again. "I've got you on monitor. Be with you shortly."

"Kitra?" Griffen's welcome voice reached her.

"How are things looking?" she queried, still watching her screens, gauging distances, making minor adjustments.

"Fine from here. What about you?"

"It's touch and go. The planet hopper's not at full functional capacity. We'll keep heading towards you."

"At your present speed those pursuit ships are going to be on you before you get here!"

"We'll make it! Just keep out of sight! If they spot 'Pegasus' they'll ignore us and try to destroy you!"

"I know what I'm doing! I hope you know what you are!"

The drop ship came in closer to Tarrant's planet hopper and Kitra matched the speed. It was travelling at approximately 75 the speed of the drop ship. She watched the pursuit ships gaining.

"It's going to be a close call." she said to Tarrant.

"I told you to leave this ship."

"You can say 'I told you so' when we're safely away!"

"If we live that long!"

Then the pursuit ships were there. Both the drop ship and planet hopper were small targets and more agile but the pursuit ships had far superior fire power. Kitra's laser could cause minor damaged but needed to be fired at close range, bringing her into further danger. Tarrant had to rely on his skill as a pilot to stay out of danger.

Kitra couldn't help but admire his skill. She had seen him fly before; he had piloted 'Pegasus', the freighter and the drop ship. She knew that he was good and certainly hadn't boasted of his abilities. But in this life and death struggle, she truly saw what made him one of the best pilots that ever came from the Federation academy. He made his ship dodge, duck, swerve, seem to stand on its nose or tail, spin, everything that a ship shouldn't be able to do.

At Griffen's signal they both broke off the attack and headed straight for the dark side of the planet. A plasma bolt passed under them and struck the first pursuit ship, closely followed by a second which destroyed the one following. The light from this momentarily blinded Kitra and Tarrant and when their eyes had reaccustomed themselves they both found themselves on a collision course with 'Pegasus'!

Rapidly altering course they swerved to either side, before more sedately moving into docking position. Once the grapples had drawn both ships inside and repressurised, Kitra and Tarrant vacated their respective ships with a sigh of relief.

"You all right?" Tarrant asked Kitra, hugging her.

"Fine," she replied returning the gesture. "You were the one doing the fancy flying. You're not too shabby."

He glanced down at her smiling face and felt his flesh shiver. He was finding himself drawn to her more and more and was uncertain how to deal with it. She neither encouraged nor discouraged him, but he knew that something would have to be resolved, and soon.

"Let's get this cargo dropped off." she said, turning to head for the flight deck. "We've got a deadline to meet."

"I can't believe that you just gave it to them after everything that happened. You know they double crossed you!"

Kitra kept walking. "Of course I know they did! But I honour my agreements. I said I would deliver the cargo, it is now delivered."

"But they'll just turn you in again!"

"Oh no, they won't."

"Don't tell me you believe in 'honour among thieves'?" Tarrant said sarcastically.

Kitra's laugh had a hard edge to it. "Not in the least! But I made a bargain and I have delivered as promised. They have received their cargo as requested, nothing less. But I never said a thing about anything more."

Tarrant looked across at her. A half smile was on her lips as she continued. "I left a little surprise for them."

She now stopped and moved to lean against the wall looking back at where they had come from. Tarrant too turned. Suddenly a fireball erupted in the sky and a loud 'thump' reached them a moment later.

Tarrant looked at Kitra who was watching the fireball intently.

"You did that?" he asked, motioning with his head, although he already knew the answer.

She looked over at him. "I couldn't let them get away with it. If I had, I wouldn't have a customer left, not to mention I'd be dodging the Federation at every pick up. That," she waved a hand at the destruction. "let's everyone know that you do not double cross me. And live." She brushed her hands and continued back towards the ship.

"Rather drastic, isn't it?" Tarrant asked, thinking of the possible number of people that could have been present at the time of the explosion.

Kitra glanced across at him. "Tarrant, you were the one that was just saying that I shouldn't let them get away with it."

"I didn't really mean for you to kill them all!"

"Then what did you mean!" she said in exasperation. "Tarrant, there was no other solution. I would not lower myself and set the Federation on them, I am not that cruel, but I had no choice! I could not let them live. They had to be the message to everyone else. Or it would take only a matter of weeks before Vila would be back rotting on a prison planet and you'd have no mind again. That's if you weren't both killed this time. Is that what you want?"

"Of course not!" Tarrant replied, understanding her reasons but finding it difficult to accept. Then he thought of something. "What would happen to you?"

"Me?" she shrugged. "I imagine I would be killed. After their scientists had finished with me. I have no value to the Federation except as an experimental subject. I would rather avoid that."

They walked in silence until they reached their ship, then Tarrant reached out and placed a hand on her arm, halting her. "Kit, I'm sorry. You've got your reasons and I guess there's little difference between killing them like that or if they had attempted to fight us and we killed them that way. It really does all come down to the same thing. You know what is best and you are thinking of both Vila and my own well being. Thank you."

Kitra smiled slowly and gently placed a hand on his cheek. "It's all right, Tarrant. I don't kill for no apparent reason. That is against my nature. But I will not live in danger by refusing to kill." Her fingertips stroked his cheek softly before releasing him and she entered the ship.

Tarrant remained where he stood, staring after her. He shook his head trying to shake the image of her from his mind. His cheek still burned from her soft touch. He was a man, and at this minute he desperately wanted the woman who had just left him.

He paced a few steps to the right, turning and going left, thinking furiously. What was he thinking of! She was an alien. He wasn't prejudiced but she was quite unmistakeably alien. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. She was clever, quick witted, strong, fearless and yet she could be very gentle.

He had seen the way she interacted with Griffen and Vila, both were treated like her brothers. Griffen was addressed as though he stood there in person, he was made to feel useful and needed. She would converse with him, confide in him. She trusted him.

Vila was treated as a delinquent younger brother, for all that he was older than she. She indulged him, yet also kept him in line. Tarrant understood that she had only taken on the search for himself and the others at Vila's bequest. If she had refused, Vila would have had to do it alone and Tarrant was not deluding himself, nor belittling Vila, in realising that he would probably never have been found and most certainly never had gained his memories.

Griffen and Vila had become part of her family. But what was he? He stopped at the base of the ramp and looked up into the darkness. It was time he found out.

He found Kitra in the hold, tidying away bits and pieces. She glanced up when she heard him enter. "Ready to go?" she asked, turning back to her task.

"There's nothing else to do here."

"I'll be glad to get home." She stood upright and rubbed the back her neck.

"Tired?"

She nodded. "A lot's been happening. I could do with a break."

Seeing this as an opening he could use Tarrant stepped closer and reached up to massage her neck. She dropped her hand with a sigh and closed her eyes. "That feels good," she said softly. He could feel the tenseness in her muscles. She wasn't exaggerating when she said she was tense and tired.

He continued to rub her shoulders, moving to stand directly behind her. Gradually she was leaning back against him. As he worked more on her shoulders and not her neck, her head leant back to rest on his chest. He could see that her eyes were still closed, lips slightly parted as she began to relax. He was wary about startling her, knowing that she could cause him some serious damage if caught unawares but this was as good an opportunity that he would ever get.

Very slowly he bent his head, continuing to rub her shoulders, and placed a soft kiss on her stretched throat. She did not jump in surprise, so he continued to softly kiss her throat. She leant back into him further as he slowly released her shoulders and brought his arms around her. Her eyes remained closed until he raised his head to look at her. When they opened he could see that the veil had lifted and he was gazing into two large golden eyes that watched him steadily. He leant down to touch her lips with his and they remained in a long lingering kiss. Her arms stole around his neck and her body was pliable beneath his hands.

"Please?" he whispered hoarsely in her ear, all his passion and need voiced in that one word. He waited in agony of her decision, fearing rejection even at this stage.

Her fingers ran down the side of his face as she said softly. "Yes,"

For a moment Tarrant couldn't believe he had heard correctly. Surely he had misunderstood. But she was still in his arms, and if anything pressing against him closer than before. There was no mistake. Released from his indecision, now he could act.

When they arrived back at the base Vila was aware of a change between them immediately. Even before Tarrant stood behind her, wrappeing his arms about her and kissing her cheek.

"I gather that the exchange went well?" he said.

Kitra smiled at him. "They won't be bothering us again. Anything happen whilst we were gone?"

"Obviously nothing as interesting as what you two got up to."

Kitra cocked her head to one side and scrutinised Vila for a moment. Tarrant merely grinned broadly. Vila was certain that he hated Tarrant when he smiled.

"Griffen said that Orac has something to tell us." Vila continued.

"What?" Tarrant asked.

Vila shrugged. "I don't know. Orac said he'd wait for you to return so he could tell us all."

"Sounds like Orac is being his usual irritating self. I'll go and see what I can get out of him." Tarrant turned to the door.

"You can try," Vila said. "But you can't bully Orac. He's not going to cave in to you."

"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Tarrant said leaving the room.

"Two things that never change about Tarrant," Vila said turning back to the bar. "He smiles all the time and he likes to bully people."

"Vila," Kitra's soft voice reached him.

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong. What could be wrong?" he tried to make his voice light but could not bring himself to look at her.

Her hand rested on his arm. "Tell me,"

He shook his head before looking up at her. He gazed upon her face; lovely, exotic. How could he tell her that he was jealous of Tarrant? Then he thought about it further. Until he had seen her with Tarrant he had never even considered her in that light. Not since the very first night they had met. What did he feel for her?

"Vila. Is it because of Tarrant?"

He nodded, unable to trust himself to speak.

She continued to look closely at his face, then dropped her hand away, releasing him. "Then it shall not continue." She turned away to leave.

Vila stared at her departing back, his mouth open. He finally found enough voice to say. "What?"

Kitra stopped and turned to face him again. "I would not do anything to harm you, Vila, or cause you discomfort. You are not happy with my association with Tarrant, so I shall not associate with him in that manner. I will tell him so."

"But... don't you like him?"

"Very much," She dropped her eyes and her voice lowered. "I have not had... anyone to care for before." She looked up once more. "But it is not important."

"But you like him! Of course, it's important!"

"You are more so," was her quiet reply.

Vila could not think of what to say to that. She liked Tarrant, that was very obvious, and from what little he had been able to glean of her past he didn't think she had cared about anyone before now. Her only 'family' was Griffen, and he had told Vila that there had never been any lovers in all the years that he had known Kitra. So for her to actually admit that she cared for Tarrant was rather momentous.

And yet she was prepared to walk away from it all. For him! That told him more than a thousand words how much that she valued him. And though she may love Tarrant, she actually cared about Vila even more than that. Vila closed the distance between them and impulsively reached out to hug her. She responded willingly.

"Oh, Kit! I don't want you to give up Tarrant."

She leant back from him, holding his forearms. "You don't?"

He smiled sheepishly. "No. I want you to be happy. Though how you can put up with someone as egotistical as him I don't know. Especially when there is someone of my wit and calibre right here." She chuckled in reply. "If you want to be with Tarrant, then you be with him. I don't mind. I... guess I did feel jealous. He's handsome, strong, brave, the sort that always gets the girl. I guess I just didn't want him to get you too."

"Vila, Tarrant may be all those things but I can walk away from all of it if you want me to." Kitra said seriously, scanning his face.

He shook his head. "No, it's all right. You see, you've just shown that even though Tarrant may think he has won you, I know that I'm more important to you. I guess I'm actually luckier than Tarrant. It's like we're family."

Kitra smiled at him, with tears gleaming in her eyes. "You are family, Vila. No matter how much you exasperate me. You and Griffen mean more to me than anything in this universe. Never doubt that."

Vila gave her another quick hug. "Then that means I can continue to annoy you and you can't kill me if I do something stupid or you don't like."

"I can always kill you and say I was sorry afterwards." she replied with a sarcastic smile.

Vila rolled his eyes. "You have got to meet Avon!"

"May be I will!"

"Okay," Vila said briskly, picking up his forgotten drink. "Let's got find out what Tarrant has managed to wheedle out of Orac!"

"Think that's likely?"

"Not one bit!" and he linked arms with her as they left.

Vila sidled up next to Tarrant. "You treat her right." he said softly.

"What?" Tarrant said turning his head.

"Kitra. Don't do anything to hurt her."

"Vila, what right do you think you have to tell me what to do?" Tarrant replied arrogantly, turning away.

He was surprised when Vila grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

Vila retained his grip and stared firmly into Tarrant's face. "I mean it, Tarrant." he said forcefully. "If you hurt her, somehow I'll find a way to make you pay. She deserves better. So treat her right." With that he released Tarrant's arm and walked away.

Tarrant watched him leave in amazement. Never had he seen Vila so confident or firm. Never had he seen Vila actually become physical to get his point across. This was quite a change of character. Though then again, perhaps not. A few times there had been glimpses that maybe Vila wasn't really what he appeared. He knew that Avon often suspected there was more, and Cally had been certain of it. But he had always dismissed Vila as the village idiot, and a coward.

He thought about what Vila had said. He had already had much the same conversation from Griffen and he was beginning to feel that perhaps he had bitten off more than he could chew. How did he really feel about Kitra? He still liked her, that much had certainly not changed, but did he love her? He didn't think so, but wasn't sure.

Perhaps he simply let himself get carried away with everything; the relief of regaining his memories, of being reunited with Vila and Orac, searching for the others, the excitement and danger of smuggling, and Kitra's exotic personality. All could have made him look for more. And maybe it's just not a good idea to mix business with pleasure. His feelings towards Servalan had forever changed after their time on Vern. No matter how hard he had tried he could not hate her as he had, for all that he knew the terrible things she had done and would continue to do. That had affected his relationship with the others on Scorpio. He had hurt Dayna the most, for which he was sorry. They had been close before. They never were again. Maybe he should have resisted his impulses and left Kitra alone. He knew that she would have made no move if he had not.

He shook his head. He needed to think about this. He would need to talk to Kitra also about it.


	8. Part 3: Cyber Chapter 1

Title: Sojourn: Part 3 – Cyber

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 1

"That can't be her!" Tarrant said, staring at the bent figure below them. He remembered Soolin with her proud erect stature, her long blonde hair always neatly groomed. The figure they were watching was dressed in dirty rags, hair in a tangled, bedraggled mess. He couldn't tell for certain if this was Soolin.

"So what do we do?" whispered Vila.

Tarrant ducked back down and leant against the rock to think. He and Vila had landed on the planet whilst Kitra flew a diversion for them. It had appeared to work and the Federation base was not alerted to their presence. The drop ship was small enough to have possibly escaped detection. If not, the planet would have been crawling with Federation troops by now.

The reason that it was Vila with him and not Kitra is that both of them knew Soolin; Kitra did not. What little Tarrant had heard of this planet from Orac, and what little he had seen since, landing made him want to leave all the more quickly.

"No matter what you see down there," Kitra had said just before they departed. "No matter what is happening, don't get involved. We can't win a fight here. Just find out if Soolin is down there, get her and get out."

That had been two days ago. Federation movement had increased since their arrival in response to 'Pegasus's' unexpected appearance but so far they had escaped detection. And thanks to a little device that Orac and Griffen had cooked up between them the drop ship was in automatic orbit until they sent the appropriate recall signal. That at least gave them the comforting knowledge that their escape route was safe for the time being.

In the past two days they had slowly and carefully travelled towards the main complex as pinpointed by Orac. This was a prison planet, but whereas Vila simply sat and broiled on Sutara, here it was also a slave camp. The prisoners were expected to do everything for the Federation troopers stationed on this planet. And as the minority of the prisoners were females it was clear enough what other duties they had to perform.

The prisoners were provided with nothing. The Federation would discard any unwanted items outside of their protected dome, letting the planet's inhabitants fight over these remnants, the stronger getting the lion's share.

Over the years, there had developed a loose variety of cultures. The prisoners were scattered all over the planet; some having reverted to complete barbarianism, others simply preferred to live as far from the Federation base and survive on their own.

The main group had used the Federation's rejected parts to build a ramshackle complex where the mass of humanity gathered. The people were dressed in rags, fed on scraps, were wracked with disease, and death was a frequent visitor. The dead were simply dragged outside and a little away from the shelters, and left to rot. This didn't help with the hygiene.

Tarrant was under no misapprehension that if they were seen either by the Federation or the prisoners, he and Vila would be killed. So the past two days had been very tense to avoid such an occurrence.

There was one close call as they were nearing the complex when they were surprised by three prisoners. The ensuing fight found the prisoners dead and Tarrant and Vila stripped the bodies of their outer garments. Rubbing some dirt on their faces and hands and keeping hunched inside their clothes, they had so far managed to escape any further detection. Although they were careful to give a wide berth to any other people they saw.

The complex was really only walls and ceiling, enough to keep the worst of the elements from the inhabitants. They still slept on the ground, or the lucky ones slept inside containers, or anything else they could utilise. Everyone ate from a common pot that seemed to hold a form of soup. That was the only time that there seemed to be a truce amongst the prisoners. They would not deprive each other of this meagre fare, but anything, and anyone, else was fair game.

They had managed to infiltrate themselves amongst the prisoners at the last meal queue and had attempted to search each face without seeming to. They could not see Soolin for all their looking but continued to move amongst the people. Orac was certain that she had been sent here, but perhaps she had died. Tarrant hoped not. Then they had had a stroke of luck.

Vila had stopped to help a woman who had fallen nearby. She was wracked with a shuddering cough, and had little strength left. Propping her in a corner Vila had tried to make her as comfortable as he could. This simple act of kindness had touched her.

"You're new, aren't you?" she had whispered to Vila.

"Uhmmm...well, yes," Vila had replied a little uncertainly.

"Thought so," she said, before doubling over with another fit of coughing. Vila did his best to support her through it. When it had stopped she leant back weakly. "What did you do?"

"Uhmm, I'm a thief."

"Must have been a good one to end up here. Steal the President's ship or something?"

"Something like that."

She peered up at Tarrant standing in the shadows. "What about him?" she asked, jerking her chin up. Sweat beaded her forehead and her hand felt burning hot in Vila's.

"Oh, he's got a big mouth." Vila replied airily. He heard Tarrant's feet shuffle but he could not retaliate.

"Big boy," the woman said, coughing again. "Need someone to watch your back in this place." She tried to change position to get more comfortable. "Harder for a woman, of course."

"Why?"

She looked at Vila in veiled amusement. "You are an innocent one, aren't you? The troopers take their pick. They're not that fussy, not after they've been stationed here a while. As long as they're female and not diseased, they use them. Most don't even come back. They're pretty rough. Some of us are tougher though. You'd think they'd get tired of the same ones but as that's all they can get they take it. Sick bastards!" She began coughing again and when she leant back afterwards a thin trickle of darkness ran from the corner of her mouth.

"Is that why there're not many women around?" Tarrant asked, glancing down. "Have the troopers taken them all?"

"Only took a couple. All they could grab at the time. I was sleeping so they didn't see me. Lucky for me. Too weak at the moment. Would have probably killed me!" she laughed weakly as though something amused her.

"Did you know the ones they took? Were they friends of yours?"

"No-one's got friends in this place," The woman replied. "Wish I did have." Vila didn't think she was going to speak again when she continued. "Guess I could call one of them a friend, she helped me sometimes. Hardly said two words most of the time but she still helped. More than what most do. The troopers take her all the time. Don't know why she didn't take to the mountains. It might have been worth the risk. She's not as pretty as she was when she arrived, but that doesn't worry them. She's still got a good figure and they're only after the body. One time she's not going to come back though. Maybe this time is it. Yeah, I guess I'll miss Soolin."

Vila couldn't help but look up quickly at Tarrant to see his reaction. The woman knew Soolin, she was here. Tarrant was just as startled to hear this news and knelt down at Vila's side.

"Are you saying Soolin was one of those taken by the Federation?"

The woman nodded weakly. Vila could feel her body beginning to shake. "She won't last much longer here. Like me. Been here too long. Can't fight anymore. She won't last much longer. Seen it before. You can tell by the eyes. She'll be better off dead." Another fit of coughing struck her.

"We've got to try and find her!" Vila whispered to Tarrant.

"We will. We've got to know more!"

Vila turned back to the woman and leant forward to ask a question but jerked backwards in shock. Vacant eyes stared back at him and a steady stream of blood ran from mouth and nose. The woman was dead.

Tarrant reached out cautiously and checked the neck for a pulse. He shook his head, confirming what they had both known.

"Now what do we do?" Vila asked.

"We'll have to wait." he glanced at the dead woman. "She said that Soolin had been taken by the troopers, and that this is a common occurrence. We'll wait for her to be released."

"What if she isn't?" Vila put in. "She also said that not all of them do come back. And she seemed to think that Soolin wasn't going to be around much longer."

"She was only guessing," Tarrant stated, dismissing it.

Vila stubbornly refused to ignore the warning. "She would know. I've seen it before. People just decide to give up. Once they do, they just die. You can't stop them. We've got to get Soolin away from here fast."

"We don't know where she is, Vila! We've got no way of getting into the base or finding her in there! If we try we'll only endanger our chances of getting away. All of us. We know she's here so we're not going to leave without her. Unless we have proof there's no point in staying."

"Well, we can't stay here."

Tarrant looked around then pointed. "We'll climb up there. If she comes back she'll have to eat sometime so the main area is where she'll come. We've got a good view from there."

That had been a number of hours ago and Tarrant had been close to giving up. As he thought about it he wondered just how long it would be before Soolin was returned. It may be days. He wasn't sure if Vila and he could remain undetected and unharmed for that long.

A hunched figure limped over to the common pot, fumbling with a bowl. The wind caused some of the complex's panels to grate and the person looked up. For one moment the face was fully lit. Vila gasped. Beneath the grime, despite the gaunt features, it was Soolin. He grabbed Tarrant's arm and nodded. Tarrant merely stared in disbelief. The figure below turned its attentions back to its meal and shambled away.

"We've got to get down there!" Vila hissed.

"Hold on!" Tarrant said, grabbing him before he could move. "Let's think about this first."

"What's there to think about?"

"How to get to her and leave here without being followed and getting to a safe place to call the drop ship down."

"Oh,"

"And we're still not 100 certain that is Soolin."

"'Course it is!" Vila said indignantly. "I recognise her!"

"All right. Come on, we'll try and talk to her."

They scrambled down from their perch and followed after Soolin. There was little light to see by once they were away from the centre. Huddled ragged figures crouched in the shadows. He and Vila attempted to look at each they passed, hoping not to draw attention to themselves.

Vila tugged on his sleeve and motioned with his head. To their right, a figure leant against the wall, a bowl of food resting on its knees. Tarrant raised an eyebrow in question and Vila nodded. He was certain that it was Soolin. They moved over to the person. It didn't pause in eating, nor did it look up.

Vila crouched down. "Soolin?" The spoon hesitated half way to the mouth before continuing.

"Soolin," Tarrant said reaching out and halting the spoon before it could be filled again. He could feel the bones through the skin on her hand, there was little flesh left. Slowly the head rose and blue eyes looked out at them, dulled and glazed; eyes that had seen too much and didn't care any more. "Soolin, it's me, Tarrant. Vila's here too. We've come to help you."

"Go away," came the mumbled reply before the eyes dropped again.

Tarrant and Vila looked at each other in surprise. This was not the reaction they had expected to receive to their rescue. They moved a little away from her and she continued her interrupted meal.

"Perhaps she's drugged?" Vila said. "You know, when she was taken by the guards."

Tarrant shrugged, "Could be. I don't know. How are we going to get her out of here if she doesn't want to come?"

"We're not leaving her here!" Vila said firmly.

"No, but she's got to co-operate with us."

They returned to Soolin's side. "Soolin," Tarrant said. "We want to get you out of here."

"Why?"

"We've been looking for you. We're not going to leave you in this place. So come on. We've got to make a move now."

"Leave me."

"No. You can't expect us to walk away after seeing you like this, living in this hell-hole. Come with us."

Tarrant put a hand under her elbow and lifted her to her feet. She

didn't protest or fight him, nor did she assist. Even through the rags Tarrant could feel her bones jutting out. He began to guide her along, prodding her to keep her going. She shuffled along between them, head down.

They made their way outside the complex, looking around them to be certain they were not being followed. The darkness would provide them some cover; it was too risky for them to use the torches they had brought with them. They would only serve to attract unwanted attention. Now both Tarrant and Vila had to take an elbow each to guide Soolin across the uneven ground. She had still made no effort to speak to them.

"How far are we going to go?" Vila asked, a little breathless.

"Just far enough away from the base where there's room for the ship to land." Tarrant replied.

"Good. At least we won't have to walk for another two days."

"I'll give the signal to the ship now. It will keep tracking us until we stop so we'll be able to put some more distance between us and the Federation." and so saying he reached for his pocket and keyed in the recall code.

After another couple of hours, Tarrant halted, looking around. "This is far enough. We'll wait for the ship."

Soolin immediately slumped to the ground in a huddled position. They didn't have long to wait before they heard the faint sound of engines and could see the outline of the drop ship descending a short distance from them.

Then, above the noise, a shout reached them. Whirling Tarrant saw a group of five ragged figures bearing down upon them at a run. He pulled out his gun and fired, dropping one but the others kept coming.

"Run!" he shouted at Vila, hauling Soolin to her feet. "Run!" he said again, pushing her in the direction of the descending ship.

She merely stood there, head down, uncaring. Tarrant was almost tempted to leave her, but instead picked her up in his arms and started after Vila. She weighed absolutely nothing and he managed to keep ahead of their pursuers. Vila had the ramp down and as Tarrant staggered up he fired his gun at their attackers before closing the ramp behind them.

Tarrant deposited Soolin on a seat leaving Vila to strap her in whilst he flung himself into the pilot's chair and set the automatic lift off program already in place. He and Vila just had time to secure themselves before the ship took off. They were away and safe before the Federation had time to arrange a pursuit.

"Tarrant?" Kitra's voice came over the communications.

"Kit! Are we glad to hear you!" Vila said happily.

"Everything okay?"

"We found her," Tarrant replied, glancing back at their silent partner, "Though it may be too late."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

"All right. Griffen's sending you our co-ordinates. Rendezvous in 25 minutes."

"See you then."

They spoke little during the trip. Vila was relaxing with his ever present bottle of wine he had managed to secrete on board. Tarrant concentrated on flying, watching for any signs of pursuit. Soolin remained silent.

Once they were safely back in the hold of 'Pegasus', Kitra and Griffen were there to greet them. She gave both of them a hug of welcome and then turned to Soolin. Her eyes ran over the slumped figure before them and without a word beckoned them to follow her, Vila leading Soolin.

Once in the lounge, Kitra poured drinks all round, placing one before Soolin where she had been seated. "Any troubles?"

"Not much. The Federation knew there was a ship that landed but I don't think they would have any idea what for."

"She's not going to be missed?"

"The Federation wouldn't even know how many prisoners were on that planet. They're scattered everywhere, and they die at an astonishing rate. There's no process in place for collecting the dead bodies and marking the files as deceased. They're just left to rot."

"Rather lax."

"I don't think the guards there are too interested in protocol." Tarrant said with a grimace.

"Soolin?" Kitra said, sitting opposite her. "I'm Kitra. I've been working with Tarrant and Vila. You're quite safe here."

"What does it matter?" Soolin mumbled, hunching further into her rags.

"The Federation can't reach you here. They probably don't even have any idea that you've escaped."

Soolin raised her head and peered through the strands of hair coving her face. "You should have left me."

"Why?" Kitra asked, looking at her intently. "Why would you want to stay there?"

"It's where I belong."

"Of course, it's not!" Vila put in, shocked. "You belong with us. We've been looking for you, to try and help you."

"Help me? You could have helped me by leaving me to die!"

Vila gaped at this statement. Kitra merely continued to study Soolin closely. "Why? Why do you want to die?"

"What did the Federation do to you?" Vila asked concernedly.

"They did this!" Soolin spat, thrusting her right arm at Vila's face, showing the wrist ending in nothing. Her right hand was gone. Her gun hand.

Now, Vila could understand some of her apathy - why she had given up. The Federation took the only thing that she considered her own - her skill with a gun. Without that, she had nothing. The maimed arm dropped back to her side, hidden by the rags and she returned to silence.

Vila looked over at Tarrant, at a loss as to what to say or do. Tarrant shrugged. Maybe they should have left Soolin on the planet. Left her to die. She was all but dead now. She was crippled and abused. What did she have to look forward to in life from now on? What could they offer her? They couldn't take away the years she had spent on the prison world. They couldn't give back what the Federation had taken from her. They couldn't take away her emotional pain. Maybe she would have been better off dead.

"Vila, can you go and talk with Orac? Ask him if he's looking into anything else now that Soolin's been found. Tarrant, can you and Griffen do a check on the drop ship? Double check that the automatic recall system is still functioning correctly after this test run."

Tarrant opened his mouth to say something but caught Kitra's eye as she motioned them both out of the room.

Once they had left Kitra returned her attention to Soolin. Through her empathy she could feel Soolin's roiling emotions. The self loathing and disgust, the pain, the anger, the hate. All negative emotions that served to drain the life from her until now all she wanted to do was die.

Kitra had felt death wishes before, and Soolin had a death wish. But she was so buried in her own apathy she couldn't actively seek her death or she would have suicided long before now. All she could do was sit and wait for death to claim her. Kitra had to find someway to use those negative emotions and turn them to her advantage.

She stood up and returned to the bar for another drink. "So, that planet must have been a great place to be since you didn't want to leave it."

An almost silent bark of laughter escaped Soolin's lips. Good, thought Kitra. She's relaxing now she's away from that place. There might still be something there to work with.

"Well, you must have been having a wonderful time as you were so keen to stay. Were the 'attentions' of the guards that entrancing?"

A shudder went through Soolin and Kitra felt a wave of hatred wash from her.

"From what I was told by Tarrant and Vila you didn't really have any attention from men whilst on the Scorpio. Didn't have the time. Or I guess no-one took an interest. I suppose, if you're desperate enough, any attention is better than none."

Kitra knew she was being cruel but she needed to spark something in Soolin. The anger kept building in Soolin but it still wasn't enough.

"You must have done a good job. They were pleased enough with you to keep coming back for more. They were probably glad to find someone so eager and willing. Someone who would do anything for them."

Soolin sprang from her seat, spinning to face Kitra. Her face was contorted with hatred, eyes wide, teeth gritted and lips pulled back in a snarl. Her whole body was shaking in contained rage. Now, Kitra thought, now to turn that anger and focus it!

"Are you angry, Soolin? Angry at me? Whatever for? Am I wrong? Did you fight? Did you want to kill them? Are you angry enough to kill?"

Kitra walked across the room, feeling Soolin's burning eyes upon her and turned to face her.

"Why don't you fight? Why didn't you fight them? Why don't you fight me? We can give you another chance. A chance to even the score. Don't you want that?"

Soolin spun around and leant on the bar, still shaking.

"Are you really willing to just lay down and die because they say so?" Kitra asked her.

"What can I do!" Soolin spat at her, her voice hoarse with rage.

"Fight."

"With what?" she swept the cup from the bench with her crippled arm. "I can't hold a gun! Don't mock me!"

"So you're not even going to try and consider other possibilities. Are you willing to just accept what they've done to you and let them continue to kick you just for their pleasure?"

"I can't do anything!"

"Have you even tried!"

"What's the point?"

"The difference between being alive or dead!" Kitra said pointedly. "Do you want to make them pay for what they've done?" Kitra moved closer to her, walking behind as she spoke. "Isn't there a spark of hate left, of anger at them for crippling you, for not having the decency to kill you cleanly? Anger at them, knowing they've done this deliberately. So they could break your spirit, so they can mock you with your helplessness. Because they believe you are helpless without your hand. They don't consider you a threat now. They don't think you can do them any harm. Don't you want to hurt them, don't you want to prove them wrong?" Kitra came round to face Soolin, looking her in the eye. "Doesn't revenge burn in your soul?"

"Yes, I want to make them pay but I can't do anything except die and ruin their pleasure! They've taken everything from me!"

"Wrong," Kitra said, shaking her head. "They have only taken some things from you. They haven't taken your life. They made that mistake. Now it is up to you to decide if that life is worth anything. Whilst you are still living, you can do anything. You just need to find the opportunity."

Soolin looked at her, and Kitra sensed a faint change in the resonance of her anger. Instead of a roiling mass of emotions, the anger was becoming sharper, more focused. Yes, Kitra thought. Now we can work together!

"How much is revenge worth to you?" Kitra asked intently.

Soolin paused for a moment before answering, "Everything! Give me the chance and I'll take them out or die trying!"

"That won't be necessary. Suicide runs weren't what I had in mind."

"Then what?" Soolin asked, glaring at her.

Kitra shrugged. "We'll think of something. We have the advantage of time being on our side. We can plan and devise our own methods of revenge."

Soolin turned away from her again. "What do you know of revenge?" she said bitterly.

Kitra gripped Soolin's upper arm tightly, forcing her to look at her. "I know everything about revenge!" she said, dropping her voice to a tense whisper. "Don't ever think I don't! You seek revenge for yourself. I seek it for my people! I know the bitter sweet taste of revenge all too well! And I learnt long ago to bide my time till the right moment." She stared at Soolin for a moment more and then released her, moving back to the sofa to sit.

Soolin followed suit. "You did that all deliberately." she said, referring to the moments just passed.

Kitra looked up at her. "Of course,"

"Why?" Soolin demanded.

"I wanted to see if there was anything left of the Soolin Vila had told me about."

"And?" Soolin said with a raised eyebrow.

"That Soolin wouldn't have given in. That was the Soolin that survived after her family was killed and then hunted down the men responsible. That Soolin can fight back."

"I'm not of much use now." she put in with a bitter shrug. "I only had the one skill."

Kitra shook her head. "Wrong attitude," she said. "You have more skills than you know. You can pilot a ship, you've still got a good brain, and more often than not that is of more use than a gun. And you can learn to use your left hand instead."

Soolin held her left hand up. It had been badly mistreated by the Federation also - they too had considered the possibility of her developing the same skill with the other hand but had decided that the psychological and emotional trauma would prevent that happening so had not removed that hand as well. So after breaking it and leaving her with the pain of it mending, they had left it alone.

Now Soolin could see the possibility there also, after all these years. When she looked back up at Kitra, a change was already taking place. Her back straightened, shoulders firming, her face hardening and eyes showing more calm and coherent thought than had been there for many years. "So we'll have the chance to get back at them?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," Kitra assured her. "Plenty of times. Not necessarily in a satisfyingly bloodthirsty manner. I'm not interested in suicide missions. Or glory runs. But in ways that hurt them all the same. Undermine them, sabotage them, trouble them, annoy them. Have them chasing their own shadows, drive them insane trying to catch us. And gradually, may be, we can start to do more. That suit you?"

Soolin nodded with a half smile, the first she had shown. "For starters, yes." She glanced down at herself. Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she took note of her condition. "Is there some place I can clean up? A change of clothes perhaps?"

"Of course. Griffen, will you show the way?"


	9. Part 3 Chapter 2

Title: Sojourn: Part 3 – Cyber

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 2

"We may be able to do something about this." Kitra said, examining the scarred flesh around the wrist stump with a clinical eye.

"Like what?" Soolin asked, dispassionately looking at her maimed limb.

She had been with the team for close to a month now, and the transformation had been startling. From the ragged, gaunt, almost skeletal figure she had been upon her rescue, she almost looked as she once had. Her blonde hair was clean and straight, trimmed neatly around her face, her eyes were clearer and there was more flesh covering her bones, although she still tended towards the half-hungry look. It would take time for her body to fully recover from her ordeal. Yet, no matter how well her body recovered, it would never erase the lines of pain and hardship that were etched into her face.

"We can't regenerate a new hand. The tissue's too badly destroyed for that and it's been too long, but maybe a cybernetic hand."

"Like Travis's?" Vila put in. He had told Kitra of Travis sometime ago.

"Something like that but it can be a little more flexible and realistic than his. Don't forget he was a lot more machine than human. What do you think, Griffen?"

The globe hovered over Soolin. "It could be possible, although a very delicate operation. There would be no guarantee of success."

"So what would we be doing?" Tarrant asked, peering down also. It was a little snug in the infirmary with them all present.

"Create the mechanical hand and cover it in syntho-flesh so it'll look real enough. However, what we could also try to do is actually link all the severed nerves, muscles and tendons to the corresponding electrodes in the robotic hand. So when messages are sent down the nerves it will carry it right through to the mechanical parts and they'll respond just like the normal hand would have."

"Is that really possible?" Tarrant questioned sceptically.

"Oh, yes - in theory. The Federation has made quite a few advances in such matters but, of course, keep it only to themselves and no-one else. Everything that happens in the body is sent by electrical impulses. If the mechanics can be attuned to those impulses it should be able to function." Griffen answered.

"There are risks involved though," Kitra put in looking at Soolin. "To do that re-attachment, each of the nerves has to be cut again, removing the healed ends. As we said, there's no guarantee that it will work at all. Another risk is that your body will reject it outright so we'll have to remove it. Another possibility is that it will cause an infection and we may have to amputate the whole arm. The most drastic scenario is that it will cause your entire body to go into shock and it may kill you. We can't discount any of those things happening."

"I'll take the risk."

"Okay, we'll start looking into it. Between Griffen and Orac, I'll be able to put the robotic hand together. It will only be a rough job at first. It will take a number of adjustments before we have it right. Also, making it look realistic is a little beyond us here but there are places we can go to have that done. In the meantime, you'll have to wear a glove over the mechanics to protect them. Remember, it's going to be a long rehabilitation for you and you won't be able to use it properly for some time. We're not offering an instant fix."

"I understand," Soolin said, accepting Kitra's warning calmly.

"Okay. If you're still certain, we can begin work on the robotics and then it will be up to the operation."

"Are you going to do that?" Tarrant asked.

"You'd need a pretty delicate touch for this one," Vila put in.

The smile Kitra turned on him froze his blood and made his eyes widen with fear. "Which is why I think you'd be the perfect choice instead, Vila."

"I can't do it!" he exclaimed. "I can't stand the sight of blood!"

"There won't be any blood," Kitra assured him with a wicked grin. "Much!"

"Damn!" Soolin muttered as she dropped the screwdriver again.

Painstakingly she reached down and tried to close the fingers of her cybernetic hand around the handle. Only one finger gripped firmly, the others barely closing around. Lifting her arm slowly she raised the screwdriver, watching as it shook unsteadily in her hand. Frowning in concentration, she attempted to take a firmer grip upon it and moved it closer to the screw she was trying to undo.

Again, as she tried to turn the screw, her robotic hand refused to function and she dropped it. In fury, she picked it up with her good hand and threw it across the room. Vila ducked to one side as the projectile came rushing towards him to clatter alarmingly against the wall where his head had just been.

"What did I do?" he asked in surprise, looking in her direction, ready to flee if need be.

"Nothing," Soolin answered shortly, turning away. She stared at the console she had been working on and then looked back at Vila. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Came to see if you needed a hand," he said with a small shrug, then stopped as he realised what he had said. "I didn't mean anything by that, Soolin," he said hurriedly, backing up a step with hands raised in a warding gesture, as though expecting another object launched in his direction.

Soolin sighed, "It's all right, Vila." She stood up, brushing her trousers down with one hand. "I should be used to being a cripple by now." She sat down at one of the flight chairs and went to pick something up with her right hand, before hesitating a moment then switching to her left.

Vila came to stand in front of her leaning on the console before him. "Soolin," he said seriously, looking down at her. "You're not a cripple. It's just going to take some time. You know that. Besides, that's my handiwork you're knocking. I think I did a pretty good job of it."

Soolin half grinned. "I'll thank you when it finally works. If it does."

"Of course it will," Vila said firmly, attempting to snap her out of her depression. "Look, you're doing things with it, aren't you? Three weeks ago you didn't even have a hand at all. You're a hundred times better off than then."

It was true. The operation, as far as it went, had to be called a success. It had taken almost two months for the cybernetic hand to be assembled, under the close tutelage of Griffen and the magic touch of Vila. Once it had been completed to Griffen's satisfaction, it had been attached and the nerves and muscles for the most part were responding to this new addition, although the involuntary spasms as the body adjusted made the robotics move bizarrely at first. The road to recovery though was hard and long, and Soolin wasn't the most patient of people when it came to her own short-comings.

She sighed again and stared at her robotic hand, turning it over. "I know. I just wish I could do more."

"Griffen's done as much as he can using Kitra and I. He's looking into finding a way to finish it."

"When?" Soolin said, not really expecting an answer.

"Might be soon. He said there are a few people that he could get in touch with who he may be able to persuade to do it."

"I don't want any backstreet medic working on it!" she said sharply, "They'd more than likely botch the job completely."

"That's not the sort of people Griffen was looking at. He used to be fairly high up in the medical profession, so he's still got a few contacts. And he's only looking at the best for you."

"I never knew he was a medic," Soolin said with some interest showing.

"How did you think he knew what to do with your hand?" Vila said with a snort. "He was one of the best from what I can gather. So don't worry, when he finds someone they'll be good and they'll do the job properly." He moved over to the panel she had been working on when he had entered. "You going to tell me what I have to do to fix this?"

Soolin stood up and moved across next to him, handing him another screwdriver. "Thanks, Vila,"

He flashed her a smile and began to remove the screws.

"I hate this!" Vila said, slumped dejectedly in his seat, face morose.

"What are you complaining about now?" Soolin asked from the other side where she also sat, scrolling through some data onscreen.

"Here we are, stuck in this ship, while the other three have fun."

"It's hardly fun, Vila. They're doing a job - which we'll all get paid for," Soolin reminded him. Money was always a good way to get Vila to pay attention to anything being said.

"But they're down on that planet!" Vila wailed, not being side-tracked for once. "I had Orac check it out and there're gambling houses and entertainment halls, and we've arrived during some big festival. We could be down there having a ball! Wine, women, song – what more could we want? Instead we're stuck up here!"

"Which is a good thing," Soolin put in, returning to her reading. "Otherwise you'd lose all your money, get drunk, manage to get into some sort of trouble, and we'd probably have to find some way to break you out of prison, before having to prise you away from the place." She finished dryly.

"You'd have a good time, too," Vila said, trying to wheedle into Soolin's good side and justify his burning desire to be on the surface of the glistening planet below them.

"Maybe. But I can live without it." Soolin answered calmly, refusing to look up.

A chime from the communications panel interrupted them. "Vila?" Griffen's voice came over, crackling a little.

Vila dropped his feet from the console in front of him and leant forward to answer, "Yes?"

"Bring 'Pegasus' down and land at these co-ordinates. Stay on board and don't open up for anyone but myself." The instructions were given sharply.

"What's up?" Soolin asked, coming to stand next to Vila, alerted by the tone as well.

"Nothing, I hope," Griffen responded, "but I've lost touch with Kitra and Tarrant. It could mean they just can't talk at the moment, but I don't like it. I'll meet you when you're down."

Vila glanced worriedly up at Soolin who stared back in silence for a moment, then said, "Orac. Set the flight computers to calculate the descent according to these co-ordinates, then give me manual control."

"Computers set and manual control available." came Orac's reply, as Soolin settled into the pilot's chair and descended rapidly. It was never a good sign when Griffen was worried.

When they had settled on the tarmac they heard the chime of the door lock indicating that the bottom hatch of the ship had been opened. The only people who had that code was their little group and soon enough Griffen floated onto the flight deck.

"Anything?" Soolin asked immediately, standing to greet him.

Griffen settled down on the console near her hand. "No. They reached the rendezvous, that's a certainty. The last message from Kitra was that I was to wait until she called again. There's been nothing since then."

"Maybe they just don't want to give away that they aren't alone?" Vila said, hopefully, coming to sit closer to them both. "That's pretty normal."

"It's taken too long," Griffen said, silver feelers stretching out and latching into the ship's on board computer. "They should have been finished by now, or at least been in touch. She always lets me know what's happening. Kit knows that I would start to worry otherwise."

"So what do you think has happened?" Soolin questioned, reseating herself.

"I wish I knew," was Griffen's worried reply. Data began to scroll rapidly over all the screens in front of them all.

"Care to speculate?"

"Speculate? First guess would be a set up. There's a price on Kit's head, even if the Federation don't know who she is or her name. They still know she's out there and that other people would have to know that she's responsible for certain 'transgressions', shall we say."

"I thought she was just a general smuggler?" Soolin said, a little surprised at this statement. "There must be plenty of that going on. Why would the Federation be so concerned with her?"

"Kit's a little more than just an ordinary smuggler. She checks things out carefully and she won't touch anything to help the Federation. And she'll smuggle anything for the rebels."

"She never told me that!" Vila put in, sitting up straighter. "She said she wasn't out to save the universe!"

"She's not!" Griffen said sharply. "But she's got more sympathy for people trying to fight the Federation than those that sit and do nothing! And she hates the Federation, from way back. Why do you think she takes such pleasure in tweaking their noses whenever she can? Why do you think she helped all of you?"

"So is that why the Federation wants her?" Soolin said, getting back to the present problem.

"That's right. She may not work with the rebels as one of them, or on a regular basis, but at one time or another she has probably had contact with most of the rebel groups that are around, at least the larger, more organised ones. They are the ones that can cause the most damage so imagine what the Federation could do if they got their hands on her and that information."

"They'd be able to find out where all the rebels are located! They'd wipe them out completely!" Vila said with eyes widening as he comprehending the enormity of it all.

"Exactly. I think Kit's been set up and captured. She's no good to them dead. What I don't know is where they've taken her."

"She could be half way to Space Headquarters by now," Vila said, panic starting to seep into his voice. They had to get out of here!

"No," Griffen stated firmly. "I've been monitoring all the space traffic off planet and nothing's left since she ceased communications. She's still on this planet somewhere. Damn! I wish I had thought to tell her to take a homing signal!"

"Why didn't she?"

"They're something we've been working on for a time but we hadn't fully finished them. They only work over short distances but we had hoped to be able to modify them at some point. We didn't think this trip was going to be a problem."

"So what do we do?" Soolin asked, getting back to basics.

"First thing is to go to the rendezvous and see how things look there. There hasn't been that much time gone by, so I'm hoping that maybe there'll be a lead for us to pick up. You'll have to carry me in a bag. I look a little conspicuous."

"You're coming with us?" Vila asked surprised. Griffen rarely left the ship except to accompany Kitra at times.

"Yes. I need to get back to the drop ship and set things up there. It was touch and go for me to get here and I don't want to push my luck. Though I may be able to give you some help at the rendezvous also. Orac, have 'Pegasus' ready to lift off as soon as we give you the word. We may have to meet you in space in the drop ship."

"Very well."

"Let's go," Soolin said, as Vila lifted Griffen into a knapsack and slung it over his shoulder.

They reached the rendezvous without mishap, blending in with the locals wandering through the streets. Unobtrusively they looked around as they entered. It was a small bar, nothing flash, but clean enough. One of many that were quartered in this area of town.

Soolin and Vila seated themselves at a table in a far corner from the entrance, backs to the walls, where they could study the rest of the room. A waiter came up to take their order and then left, returning in just moments with their drinks.

As they sipped their beverages, they continued to look around carefully. Vila had placed the bag containing Griffen on the table between them, loosening the opening a little so Griffen's opticals could also scan the area and see what was happening.

Soolin took a sip of her drink, grimacing a little at the taste. The beer was very heavy and bitter, not really to her liking. "There doesn't seem to be any signs of trouble having been here, and this is a busy enough place to make it difficult to spirit someone away." she said quietly over the rim of her raised glass.

"Don't you believe it," Vila put in, drinking also and speaking just as softly. "Just because there are people here doesn't mean anything. In this type of place, if you see trouble, you ignore it. Kitra and Tarrant could have been cut into tiny pieces and made into minced meat right in the middle of the floor and not one of these people would admit to seeing anything if you asked them later."

"Lovely imagery, Vila," Soolin commented drily

Then Griffen spoke, "Maybe. But there could be signs of a scuffle if we look carefully. I don't think either of them would have gone quietly. Kit, at least, would know what to expect if that happened and it wouldn't make her any keener."

"Maybe if we circulate a little and have a look around?" Soolin suggested.

"It's a good an idea as any. Let's try it." Griffen agreed. "Go one at a time, and make certain you stay in view of each other at all times. Vila, I'll go with you on your round. You go first, Soolin. Carefully, mind you." He cautioned.

Soolin stood and wandered slowly around the perimeter of the premises, stopping now and then, casually glancing at walls, doors and tables as she went. When it was Vila's turn, he held Griffen in his bag under his arm and also circumnavigated the room at a slow, steady pace. It wasn't very big, so it didn't take long for either of them to make their rounds. When Vila rejoined Soolin back at their table, she said, "There's marks on the side of the bar over there," indicating with her head. "They look like they were left by a laser of some sort. Fairly low powered, but it's fresh."

Vila looked carefully in the indicated direction. "That would make sense. There's a door leading out to the back from there."

"How do you know?" Griffen asked quietly from his position in the centre of the table. "I couldn't see anything."

"If you look closely you'll see that the wall is standing out about a foot further than the others. There must be a passage that runs behind there."

"Is that the likely course do you think?" Soolin queried, taking another sip, trying to see what Vila had seen and had to quietly admire his keen eye because it was only now he had pointed it out that she identified the possible place. She would never have noticed it herself.

"I would say so," Vila answered, quite seriously as he fell into 'business' mode. "If they were going to remove anyone, or anything, from this place they wouldn't be likely to use the front door, so that would be the only alternate."

"Okay then," Griffen said quietly. "You'll have to take it from here. I'm afraid I won't be of much use to you from now on. Keep in close contact and don't take any chances. We don't want to have to send a search party out for you two as well. Take me back to the drop ship and I'll get things organised from there. When you find them, head there immediately."

They left what remained of their drinks and returned to the drop ship, waiting till Griffen was settled in before leaving and returning to the bar. They didn't enter this time, simply stood across the street from the building and planned their next step.

"We can't go back inside," Vila said. "It would look too obvious."

"Well, we know that there is a passage at the rear," Soolin said, glancing at the alley that ran down the side of the bar. "If we go to the back we should be able to find where it comes out and might pick up some clues from there."

"All right, but be very careful," Vila cautioned. "Places that have hidden passageways usually get very upset if they find out other people know about them!"

Instead of taking the direct path that had been before them, they made their way around the block, squeezing through some very narrow alleys between the various buildings until they reached their destination. When they were directly behind the bar, they ensured they were definitely alone, remaining in the shadows to examine the area more closely.

"There's the exit," Vila said, pointing to what looked like jumble of a half fallen down masonry haphazardly piled in one place.

Soolin looked at the mess, then spoke to Vila with doubt. "You sure?"

He nodded unhesitantly, "Positive."

She took his word for it. In this, he was the expert. "So where to from here?" she mused out loud, looking around the surroundings. "There are only two alleys leading from here. This one, and that one over there." she pointed towards the other. "Not a lot of choices."

"We'll have to get closer to have a look down that one," Vila said, stepping forward, half hunched as though expecting an attack any moment. His fear was palpable.

Hugging the sides of the buildings, they made their way to the hidden back door, trying to avoid making any noise that was unnecessary. In this enclosed space it would be sure to echo loudly, announcing their presence. Sure enough, When reaching the secret door and upon closer inspection, Soolin could see that the rubble had been welded to the door itself. Very ingenious. Vila meanwhile was examining the ground around its base.

"Here," he whispered. Soolin came to his side, hunkering down beside him. "Something's been dragged," He pointed to two furrows. "Those were made by boot heels. I think we've found Tarrant at least."

"Well, where Tarrant is, most likely will be Kitra." Soolin said.

"What if they split them up?" Vila asked pessimistically. "They could have taken Kit to sell to the Federation and decided to dispose of Tarrant."

"Maybe," Soolin said, "But I'm betting that if they know Kitra's worth something to the Federation then there's every chance that anyone she's with could also be the same. I think they'll keep the two of them together and alive, until they can find out what they'll get from the Federation for them both."

"I hope you're right," Vila said.

"So do I. Where do these go?"

"Straight down that alley," pointing to the second one they had already identified.

"Let's follow."

They carefully made their way to the mouth of the alley, checking that they remained unobserved and that all was clear before they entered. Both had their guns out and at the ready. Now was not the time to be concerned about the laws that said all weapons were to remain holstered.

There was rubbish scattered entirely through this alley, and here and there Vila pointed out the continuing signs of dragging along its length so they continued. Reaching the end they paused again to check the surroundings. They were deeper into the warren of buildings now, and obviously in one of the poorer quarters of the city.

"Where to now?" Vila said looking around them.

Soolin carefully examined the area also. The ground was harder here so the faint trail they had been following was no longer visible. She had a feeling that their journey's end was somewhere in one of the buildings before them. But which one?

"She pursed her lips, running her eye over the three buildings immediately adjacent to their current position. "You start one end and I'll take the other." she instructed. "Let's see if we can spot anything that looks like it's been disturbed recently leading to any of those."

"Okay," Vila agreed reluctantly, and they separated.

Soolin didn't saunter or try and walk casually. Here, in this area, acting in that manner was suspicious. Skulking along as she was currently doing was probably far more common. She paused and examined the building frontage. She didn't even know what it was that she was trying to find, and that thought made her despair a little. What if they were wrong? What if they couldn't find Kitra and Tarrant? What would they do then? These were frightening thoughts and they scared her deep down in her soul.

A low whistle caught her attention and turning her head she saw Vila motioning to her. She scuttled back to where he was crouching, settling in close to him. He nodded towards the building before him.

"That one I think is it," he said.

Soolin looked it over, not seeing anything. "What makes you think so?" she wanted to know. She really didn't want to be charging into the wrong place and creating a ruckus for nothing.

Vila pointed towards the steps leading to the landing, with the awning overhanging the door. "See those tubs there?" indicating the items. Soolin nodded. "On the side of one is a definite scrape, and there's what looks like black boot polish scraped on the edge of one of the steps. Also," and he opened one hand to show her a small scrap of material resting on his palm. "this was caught on a jagged edge right near the door." The colour matched what Kitra had been wearing that day. It was all circumstantial Soolin knew, but the likelihood that this had all come about in a complete unrelated incident was taking the odds a little far.

"Okay then," she said taking a deep breath and turning to look at Vila. His face was pale, and she knew he was frightened. She wasn't feeling that gung-ho herself, not when her gun hand was still out of commission. "How do you want to handle this?"

Vila swallowed audibly, then tried to smile, which came out looking more like a grimace of pain. "We don't have a lot of choice. The longer we wait the harder it will probably become. Or we might lose the chance of getting them back completely."

"I agree," she said, shifting her weight. "So we just barge straight in?"

Vila looked at the door. "Why don't we try subtle first?" he suggested. "What if I knock on the door and when it opens you take out who ever is there – then we charge in and duck!"

Soolin let out a ghost of a chuckle, "Sounds like a plan." She stood and looked down at him. "Come on then, there's no time like the present."

Vila stood also, although reluctance was in every movement. "I'll just let Griffen know what we're about to do." A hurried conversation to that effect took place, and with Griffen's words of caution still with them, they made their way to their target.

Vila stood at the door, though a little to one side which would allow him, hopefully, to be able to throw himself out of immediate harms way if need be. Soolin took up her position, pressed hard against the wall beside the door, where she would not be viewed by any occupants inside. She silently nodded to Vila who, with another deep swallow, raised his hand and knocked.

There was no answer, so he knocked again when Soolin nodded for him to continue. He did so, this time making it a little louder and longer. Silence again, then there was a sound on the other side and, bracing herself, Soolin tensed as the door swished open.

"Whadda ya want!" the man said as soon as the door was opened wide. Vila smiled broadly at him, looking completely harmless, opening his mouth as though to speak when Soolin suddenly appeared around the corner, the butt of her gun connecting with the temple of the man before her and he slumped to the floor in silence, without uttering a sound.

Soolin scanned the hall and stairs before them but there was no-one else present. She could feel the adrenalin running through her. Turning her head she motioned Vila forward into the relative safety. Silently she motioned for Vila to drag the man out of sight and close the door again, which he did, before taking up position beside her. Along or up, she wondered?

She pursed her lips, gazing up the stairs. Up, she thought, following her gut instincts. On silent feet she moved in that direction, feeling Vila following. She tested the first step and was glad to hear no corresponding creaking. That would make life a lot easier. She continued on her way, taking great care to not make a sound with her boots. She marveled at how Vila could walk so silently. He wasn't a small man by any means but he was very light on his feet.

They reached the first landing at the top and Soolin peered carefully over the edge, keeping low. Instead of another corridor and more rooms, it opened up into a large open space like a storehouse. She could see three men standing, and as she craned her neck she felt a wave a relief in spotting Kitra and Tarrant seated on the floor in the far corner, hands tied behind their backs, but seemingly unhurt. She ducked back down and turned to Vila.

On the stair before them she sketched the view for him, indicating the open area. She held up three fingers and then placed crosses where their foes were standing. She then held up two fingers and smiled broadly, with a nod, to indicate that she had also found their missing comrades, and on the invisible diagram drew a circle to show their position. Vila nodded his understanding. Soolin then pointed to him, made the motion of running and pointed on the plan the direction she wanted him to go. This would place him behind some cover where he would be able to take out one of the assailants almost immediately.

She pointed to herself and indicated what she would be doing. She would go directly to the closest enemy, knocking him out so Vila would be able to pass unharmed. That would then only leave the third to deal with.

She looked at Vila directly and raised an eyebrow, questioning his readiness. He gulped but nodded, taking a tighter grip on his weapon. She gave him an answering nod and turned. She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, feeling a familiar calm settle over her. Then with a quick motion of her head, she and Vila burst from hiding and put their plan into motion. It went like clockwork . Almost

She downed her man immediately, seeing Vila reached his point of safety and fire his weapon at his designated target and seeing that man drop. Vila actually was a reasonably good shot, although he would never let on. She had dropped to the ground straight away to prevent becoming a target herself. Vila should be able to pick off the third man who had turned at the sudden flurry of activity around him. It was then that she saw she had misjudged. A fourth man was also in the room, partially hidden by a supporting column so she hadn't seen him. From his position he had a clear shot at Vila.

From her prone position on the floor Soolin could see all this and her heart froze. Vila was oblivious to his danger, concentrating on trading volleys of deadly fire with the third man who was his next target. She would never be able to get there in time – to either of them. The man raised his weapon, readying to take out Vila, when Soolin reacted. She rolled across the floor, keeping an eye on the fourth man, and then automatically transferred her gun to her right hand, steadied and shot.

The sudden silence that settled over the room was almost deafening. She looked behind her to see that Vila had taken his man down also. She heard steps and looked up to see Vila approaching, looking a little pale. He reached down and helped her to her feet, glancing over to where the fourth man lay still. "Thanks." He said sincerely.

She brushed herself down, "You're welcome."

They hurried over to where Kitra and Tarrant were bound, removing manacles and gags.

"You were cutting it fine," Tarrant said with a smile.

Vila sniffed, "You could at least say thank you that we saved your ungrateful hide!" Tarrant just smirked at him.

"For someone who said they couldn't use that hand, you did one hell of a job," Kitra put in, rubbing circulation back into her arms, smiling at Soolin.

Soolin looked down in surprise at the gun still clasped in her robotic hand, feeling the fingers curled comfortably around the grip. She hadn't even registered that she had used it for that last shot.

"I'd say that things are looking up, wouldn't you agree?" Kitra said, standing and brushing herself off.

"Yes," Soolin replied, carefully holstering the gun and unflexing the mechanical fingers. "I think you might be right."


	10. Part 3 Chapter 3

Title: Sojourn: Part 3 – Cyber

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 3

"Griffen! Tal Griffen!" the man said in evident surprise. "I don't believe it! How long's it been? Four years?"

"Around that," Griffen replied. "How have you been, Barn?"

"Fine. Well, as fine as can be. How did you get on this frequency?"

"I have a 'friend' who is pretty good with computers."

"Pity he couldn't have worked it with a picture."

"We've got you from this end."

"Then you can see all my wrinkles but I can't see yours." Barn said jovially.

"I haven't that many wrinkles you could see, Barn."

"Lucky you. This work is killing me - too many hours and not enough sleep. But you haven't called me on an obsolete frequency to talk about my worry lines. I gather you don't want the Federation to know you're talking to me?"

"Not particularly. I need a favour."

"Well, sure, I guess. If I can. What do you want?"

"It's not for me. I've got a friend who needs a cybernetic prosthetics upgraded."

"You could get that checked through any advanced medical unit, Griffen."

"I know, but none of them have your expertise and we'd rather go to the best. And that's you."

"Flatterer."

"There's also the matter of not wanting the Federation to find out."

"Griffen, are you in trouble?"

"In a way. Let's just say that I want to avoid the Federation at all costs."

Barn let out a short laugh. "Coming here is hardly avoiding them! They run this place and it's damn hard to get in."

"We can manage. If we get in, will you do the job?"

Barn pondered for a moment and then a smile broke over his face, a grim smile. "Yes. I'm sick of what's happening here. I'll help you. But on one condition."

"Barn..." Griffen began, when Barn held up his hand to forestall him and said,

"Take me with you."

"You want to leave?"

"I want to see other places. I'm tired of looking at these four walls. And the food is horrendous!" Barn smiled again, before turning serious for a moment. "I mean it, Griffen. I want out. You've got to have a ship if you're coming here and I can help you leave again."

"Wait a moment,"

Orac switched the audio off. "Well, what do you think?" Griffen asked the others standing around him.

"You know him best, Griffen. Can you trust him?" Kitra asked.

"Once I would have said, 'With my life'. Now, I don't know."

Kitra looked at Soolin. "Are you willing to risk it?"

Soolin nodded. "I want my hand working. You say he's the best option."

"The best, but not the only. We can always look elsewhere."

Soolin shook her head. "No. He's the one."

"Tarrant?" Kitra glanced over to him.

"I say we try it. We've got the advantage of surprise. He doesn't know when we'll get there or how. If things go wrong we can always leave."

"Vila?"

"I don't know. It could be dangerous." Vila hedged, but one glance at Soolin's face decided him. "I suppose it can't hurt. As Tarrant says, we can always get away again."

"Then we're decided?" A chorus of nods answered her. "Okay, Orac. Switch us on." She nodded for Griffen to continue.

"Barn?"

"Yes."

"We're agreed. You do the job and you can leave with us."

"Wonderful! You have no idea how grateful I am. You had better go, there's no telling if the Federation may be able to pick up this transmission. I'll speak to you when you get here." The picture disappeared.

"So do we go straight there?" Griffen asked.

"Let's get Orac to run a few contingency plans for us first. I want to be certain that we've covered all the possibilities." Kitra said, before turning to the others. "You had better all get some rest. We'll be there tomorrow."

"Gen Barn?" Kitra said as she stepped round the door, the others close behind her.

"Who are you?" he said backing away, hand reaching behind him in search of a weapon.

"You were expecting us."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Fear coloured his voice.

"Barn, we don't have time for this!"

"Griffen?" Barn looked around them, searching for a familiar face to match the remembered voice.

Griffen's silver ball floated out from behind Kitra and moved to hover in front of Barn, who stood staring at it. "Are you ready, Barn?"

"Griffen?" Barn peered at the ball. "Is this some sort of communication device?"

"No, Barn. It's me. All that's left of me."

Barn shook his head. "I don't understand."

They all heard Griffen's sigh. "I can see that we're not going to get anything accomplished till you do understand, so we had better get on with this. Watch the door, Tarrant, we don't want to be surprised. Sit down, Barn."

Barn did as he was instructed, still staring at the ball in bewilderment, whilst Tarrant took up a position at the door with Kitra on the other side.

"What...?" Barn began.

"Listen, Barn," Griffen said, interrupting. "We don't have much time so I'll make this short. You asked before if I was avoiding the Federation. I am. And this is why. They did this."

"How? And why?"

"How? With advanced technology. Why? Because they wanted to."

"But you were one of the most promising medical geniuses the Federation had. Why would they do this to you?"

"Because I came up with some wonderful ideas, but they were all for the good of mankind. The Federation wanted me to use my knowledge so they could remain a conquering power. I didn't want my work to be used for those purposes. I'm a doctor, not a destroyer.

"One of the areas I was looking into was being able to transfer the brain of a person into a microcosm environment where they could function. A simplistic view of the abilities of a computer but with a human brain controlling it so information would be tempered with other considerations. The Federation wanted to use my research to enslave people. Just think, anyone who they didn't like could be disposed of yet they would still be of use. It was all entirely theoretical and I was thinking more of using it for people who were disabled or crippled, where the body was useless but the mind was still functioning. I even thought that it might have some uses in helping mentally disabled people, linking them to a computer to enhance their mental capacity. Or even people who were mentally disturbed. The possibilities were endless, but it had to be carefully thought out. As I said, it was only a theory. I ran a few experiments with artificial components to see if it would work. The results were favourable but I hadn't dreamt of trying it with a human subject. There was too much that would need to be tested.

"The Federation tried to make me experiment on prisoners. I refused. I had already heard that those they called 'felons' were more often than not simply people who opposed the tyranny of the Federation. I was already a prisoner myself. I would not subject a human to my experiments just to please the Federation.

"I thought they had given up on me for they left me alone for a couple of months, just the odd call or memo asking me to reconsider my position and so on. Then they conducted their routine inspection of the station. I was enlisted as the supervisor to show them around. During it an explosion went off in one of the labs, a couple of trainee technicians were caught in the blast. The Federation wouldn't risk their troops to go in and so I did. I managed to drag them out but a second blast caught me.

"When I regained consciousness I found myself like this. At first I thought I would go mad. I can't describe my feelings or thoughts at that time, but take my word for it. I wouldn't willingly subject anyone to this. I was told that this was the only way to save me and that I could still continue with my work. I was linked into the computers so I could function. At first I believed them, and I was thankful that I was at least alive, in a sense. I was even proud that I had been right in my research, that it did work and it could help people.

"Then I accidentally accessed some high security files and found my own medical records with a report attached. The reports came from Federation command stating that it was decided that my work needed to be tested immediately to determine its effectiveness. It also stated that I would be the ideal test subject as my brain capacity was so advanced I would have the best chance of adapting and surviving. And as I would not willingly undergo the operation a means of 'persuasion' would be necessary. So the explosion was staged. The explosives were real, planted by the Federation. The technicians knew nothing about it, but it was planned for them to be present at that time as the Federation knew that I would not leave them to die.

"But the worst was yet to come. According to my medical records as a result of the explosions all I suffered in the way of injuries were a few broken ribs, a fractured arm, contusions and a slight concussion. A few hours in a medical unit, a week of light duties and I would have been fitter than before. Instead they removed my brain, destroyed my body and trapped me in this."

Barn shook his head. "I can't believe it. All that elaborate trick, just for this? How could they justify it?"

"They don't. They believe they are entitled to do anything they wish. But they made one mistake. By trapping me they had no-one else to follow on with my work. They were expecting me to continue doing it under their guidance - and I did continue it. I developed upon my original idea, improved upon it ten fold, and they never knew.

"My original thoughts were that this would enable people to continue to function in jobs even though their bodies were destroyed or crippled, but I always believed that they would have to remain connected to the machines they were encased in. The Federation believed that too. So whilst they were busy congratulating themselves and writing self-effacing reports on my 'slow' progress in adapting, I began to do a little work on the side.

"Soon I made my little environment totally self supporting and I could unlock myself from the console at will and move around. It didn't happen overnight, it took months of slow, painstaking work. I had no particular plan, I just wanted mobility. I wanted to feel like a person again.

"Then I read the latest report that had been sent to Federation Space Headquarters. The reply was to 'terminate' the project as the reports were unsatisfactory. Terminate me. That decided it. I unplugged myself, made it to an undocking ship and left the station, leaving a virus to eat through every file I had ever worked upon. I've had nothing to do with the Federation since."

Barn reached out a hand to the ball in front of him. "I'm so sorry, Griffen." he sighed as his hand fell away. "That's much the reason why I asked to leave with you. I can't believe the Federation anymore. I can't believe they only want what is best for the people. They are only after power for their own corrupt reasons."

"I arrived at the same conclusion - unfortunately, too late. No power that does what they did to me wants to do good."

Barn seemed to give himself a shake. "Well, this only makes me more determined to leave. So let's do your job and be gone."

Kitra motioned Soolin over to Barn, following. Sitting opposite him, she held out her cyber hand for Barn's assessment. He took it in his and began examining it. "Good workmanship. Who did it?"

"We did," Kitra replied. Barn looked up so she elaborated. "I put the robotics together with the help of Griffen and Orac. Vila attached it to the nerves under Griffen's tutelage."

"It's not a bad job – for amateurs. Not that I would expect anything else from Griffen though. Lie down over here," he instructed Soolin, pointing at a low table nearby. As she did so he continued talking. "I'll give a local anaesthetic to numb the arm as I'll be linking your arm up with a number of electrodes. These will send small electrical impulses into your nerves, gradually building in intensity until we reach the threshold of each. We have to stimulate them one at a time and then match the corresponding artificial nerve in the hand until the two begin to function as one. Any sensations you feel please tell me so I can monitor it." Whilst he had been talking he had been setting all the equipment up.

"How long will it take?" Tarrant asked.

"Not long," Barn replied, continuing to work and watching the monitors closely. Griffen hovered at his shoulder. "The equipment does most of the work but it needs the interpretation of the sensations from a human to work best." He lapsed into silence for a moment before speaking again. "Whilst I'm busy if you could do me a favour?"

"Yes?" Kitra queried.

"Can you download all my files to your ship? I don't want to leave any of it for the Federation. Some would be too easy for them to misuse. They may have already copied everything but I would feel safer knowing that I have at least taken the precaution of removing as much as I can before I go."

"That's not a problem. Orac?" Kitra spoke into a communicator.

"Yes?"

"Patch into the computers down here and take all the files."

"Do you wish them to be deleted from the mainframe completely?"

Kitra glanced over to Barn and he nodded. "Yes." She confirmed.

"Very well."

"Another of the crew?" Barn asked.

"You could say that."

Kitra moved back to where Tarrant stood at the door. "Do you think he's all right?" he asked her.

Kitra glanced back before nodding. "Yes, I think so. He's much like Griffen; an idealistic visionary of doing good for the world only to have the dreams turn into nightmares."

"Rather philosophical." Tarrant said with a smile.

Kitra shrugged. "It happens all the time."

"Did you know about Griffen before?"

"Of course. How else would we have ended up together?"

"I don't know. You two have never talked about how you met."

Kitra looked up at him for a surprised moment, then shrugged. "I suppose not. Vila knew, but then we told him when he first joined us. Mainly to keep he and Griffen from arguing all the time. I never thought to tell you or Soolin."

"So how did you meet?"

"As you heard, Griffen stowed away on a ship. He stayed hidden until it landed and then disembarked. He said he had absolutely no idea of what to do or where he was going, he just floated around, avoiding everyone. I happened to be in the spaceport at the time doing a small job. I had just finished loading and had the ramp down. Griffen dropped himself at the corner of it as some technicians went by. At the same time I came back at a run with a couple of unhappy people on my heels, flew up the ramp, tripped over him and took off before pursuit ships could follow. Half my cargo hadn't been strapped down so I was in the hold fixing things when I kicked him again. I let out a curse and so did he."

She smiled at the remembrance. "I thought I would die of shock. I could hardly believe it when this metal ball swore back at me. Told me to watch where I was putting my big feet, or words to that effect. I thought I was hallucinating. We sat down then and there and told each other our backgrounds and decided to team up. I know a bit about computers but certainly not as much as Griffen so he took on more of that side of things. He could fly the ship and monitor things, leaving me free to do other things, and it helped to have a partner I could rely on."

"So what's your background? How did you become a smuggler?"

Kitra looked him in the eye. "That is my concern." she said in a voice that brooked no discussion.

"Done!" Barn's pleased voice reached them. They turned to look at him, as he helped Soolin sit up. Kitra and Tarrant moved closer.

"How's it feel?" Kitra asked her.

Soolin flexed her cybernetic hand slowly, one finger at a time. "It feels strange."

"In what way?" Barn asked, still watching monitors.

Soolin frowned. "Heavier."

"That's to be expected. You must remember that it is still made of metal, it will weigh more than a flesh and blood hand. You will adapt to it. Everything is functioning well and the more you use it, the more flexible it will become. Now rest your hand in this," and he placed a bowl of pinkish liquid on the table.

"What is it?" Soolin asked as he put her hand in it. "Oh!" as it seemed like small electrical currents ran through her hand.

"Don't take it out!" Barn said quickly, holding Soolin's hand in the liquid. "It's a new synthetic flesh I have been working on. Since your communication I have refined it so it could be used. It's designed to be attracted to the electrodes within the cybernetic hand and mould around it. It will feel strange for a time but just wait a few more moments."

When he judged that enough time had passed, Barn gently lifted Soolin's hand from the liquid. Drops of fluid ran from it but soon it dried. Barn led Soolin across the room and placed the hand under a machine and pulled a cover down before flicking some switches. A blue glow shone round the edges of the shield and when it was gone the cover was raised.

Soolin stared in wonder at what lay before her. She lifted her artificial hand and held her left alongside it. Little difference could be seen, a slightly shinier appearance to the skin perhaps, and the nails had a metallic sheen to them, and there were few lines on the skin, but apart from that it looked just like her other.

Tarrant whistled softly, impressed. "That's pretty good."

Barn beamed in pleasure, taking Soolin's hand. "This is much better than syntho-flesh. It keeps longer and is stronger. It also adheres better, not just to the metal but to your own skin. I'm very pleased with it."

"Thanks, Barn." Griffen said, speaking after a long silence. "You certainly haven't lost your touch."

"Coming from you, that's high praise." Barn said, smiling over his shoulder at Griffen.

"Anything else need doing?" Kitra asked.

Barn shook his head. He glanced around his room and began dropping a few things into his pockets whilst Kitra touched her communicator. "Orac?"

"Yes?"

"Finished?"

"Finished what, may I ask?"

Kitra rolled her eyes. "The computer files?"

"That particular task was completed 15 minutes and 33 seconds ago. I have completed another 13 tasks since that time and am currently..."

"Okay," Kitra interrupted. "Just get the ship ready for lift off. And tell Vila we're on our way."

"Very well."

Kitra shook her head. "One day I know I'm going to lose my temper and dump him out an airlock." Tarrant merely grinned at her. "So, are we ready?" Barn nodded, and Soolin experimentally held her gun in her new hand. "Be careful with that." Kitra warned. "If you don't have very good co-ordination with it we don't need you shooting yourself in the foot."

Soolin grinned "There's no chance of that."

"It's your foot." Kitra shrugged in answer. "Come on then. Let's get out of here while our luck's holding."

Checking the corridors they began to run towards the ship. Tarrant and Kitra were first, then Barn and Soolin followed. Griffen hovered in their midst. However their luck ran out quickly. Rounding a corner they came face to face with a Federation patrol.

The two groups skidded to a halt at the sight of each other and for a few seconds merely stared in shock. Then they all reacted. Tarrant and Kitra fired first and spun around to flee. The Federation were only a second slower in returning fire and starting after them.

"Where to now?" Tarrant shouted ahead.

"This way!" Barn said, leading the way. He stopped at a door and punched a code in. As the door swung open they all crowded in and closed the door behind them.

"What's a patrol doing here?" Kitra asked softly.

"I don't know. There've always been guards but they usually only patrol in ones or twos, never more. And they're not usually in this section."

They all stood silently as they heard the sound of pounding feet pass the door. Barn cracked the door and peered out. "Nothing." he whispered.

They made their way back to where they had encountered the patrol. Tarrant peeked around the corner and jerked back. "Four guards are still there."

"Is there another way to get to the ship?" Kitra asked Barn.

"Where are you docked?"

"Near the hydroponics labs." Griffen replied.

Barn frowned, "But there aren't any docking tubes there."

"We know. We made our own."

"But that means that when you leave you'll rupture the station!"

"Actually, we were going to do it quietly and seal it up before we left. Now it doesn't look like we'll have the opportunity to do so. We didn't want to damage the station but now we'll have no choice."

"This is the only corridor to reach the hydroponics from here. The only other way would be to circumnavigate the entire station and come down from the other side."

"We don't have time for that." Soolin said. "If those guards are still there they must be expecting us to come back down that corridor, which means they may have an idea of where we're heading."

"Didn't think of that. Wait," Kitra touched the communicator. "Orac?"

"Kitra?" a human voice answered this time.

"Vila. Is everything alright with the ship?"

"Sure. Why?"

"We've got some problems here. Be ready to get away quickly and monitor the outside carefully. Have Orac check the station's communications and find out why there are guards around. Looks like they're on alert."

"Okay."

"Any other way?" Tarrant pressed Barn, who was frowning in concentration.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

"Kit?" the communicator crackled.

"Yes, Vila?"

"The station's on a code yellow alert. That means they believe there is sabotage or spies on it."

"Why? What's made them think that?"

"One would assume that their computers registered the fact that a large number of files were being deleted from their mainframe and deduced from that that some form of espionage was taking place." Orac's calm voice reached them all.

Soolin rolled her eyes, Tarrant grinned without amusement and Kitra shook her head. "Didn't you think to hide your activities, Orac?" Kitra asked resignedly.

"You did not request that I keep my activities clandestine," came the testy reply.

"All right, it's our fault. Let me think," She was silent for a moment. "It doesn't look like they know the ship is there, they are simply guarding the corridors that we appeared in."

"They probably narrowed it down to here through the computers. It surely wouldn't have been too hard for them to work out which files were being tampered with and from where." Soolin put in.

"That buys us a little breathing space. But we've still got to find a way to the ship."

"Access ducts," Barn put in suddenly in a loud voice.

"Shhhh!" Kitra shushed him.

He dropped his voice. "There are access ducts all through the station. They would have to go right into the hydroponics area."

"Can we use them?"

"We must be able to. We don't use only automated repair 'bots, we have human technicians also."

"Where can we find one?"

"This way," Barn peered around the corner and waited till the guards turned to face the other way and then ran across the passage to the other corridor opposite. Soolin followed after, then Kitra and Griffen. Tarrant came last. Barn led them into a nearby room and pushing some chairs to one side revealed a narrow grill.

Kitra eyed it speculatively. "It's going to be a tight fit," thinking of Tarrant.

"It'll widen out inside," Barn assured them. They set to removing the grill, attempting to do so with as little noise as possible. Finally it was off.

"I'll go first," Barn said "I know which direction to take." Kitra indicated for him to do so. Griffen followed after and then Soolin wriggled through.

"After you," Tarrant said, with a cocky bow.

Kitra shook her head. "After you. If you get stuck I'll at least be here to give a push."

Tarrant grinned at that and lay on his stomach to wriggle through. He managed to negotiate the opening without mishap and Kitra soon followed. Barn had been correct, it was larger inside but they still had to crawl and in places it narrowed so they had to turn sideways to slide past obstacles.

They navigated the passages with Barn occasionally stopping to gain his bearings. It was slow progress but finally Barn stopped and whispered back. "We're here."

He moved forward to allow Tarrant room to look through the grill. "It appears to be empty." Tarrant reported. He then examined the grill itself. It was a newer model than the one they had originally entered and fastened electronically. They had few instruments with them that could be used to undo it. Kitra's claws wouldn't help them here. He turned to Barn. "Have you anything to get these undone?"

Barn searched his many pockets quickly then shook his head.

Tarrant looked back to Kitra and Soolin, raising an eyebrow in query. Kitra glanced at Soolin and shrugged before nodding. Twisting around so his feet were placed on the grill Tarrant brought his legs up and kicked out strongly. The grill buckled a little but did not release. He kicked again, and then a third time. On the fourth, one corner came away with an echoing pop. Tarrant ceased his exertions and they all listened for any sounds of discovery. When all remained unchanged, Tarrant resumed his efforts. A second corner released on the next kick and then with a resounding crack the grill came out and clattered into the middle of the floor.

"Move!" Soolin said sharply.

Feet first Tarrant swung himself out, coming to his feet and reaching to pull Barn through. Soolin followed smoothly, with Kitra close behind. Long benches held a variety of plants at different stages of growth in vats of liquid. They ran past these towards the back of the long room to reach the hatch embedded in the wall of the station.

As Kitra punched in the code the main door crashed open behind them and Federation troops poured in. Seeing the fugitives, they began shooting. Tarrant and Soolin dropped to a crouch behind the benches and returned the fire, causing the troopers to seek safety. Kitra remained where she was, frantically working.

"What's wrong?" Tarrant shouted, realising that it was taking longer than warranted.

Kitra shook her head. "Must be a short somewhere. Hold on." Tarrant turned his attention back to the fight.

Barn joined Kitra at the door. "Can I help?" he asked, as she pulled the panel off to reveal the electronics beneath.

"See if you can rig a by-pass!"

Barn moved into her place and examined the components, whilst Kitra pulled her gun out and provided covering fire.

"Try the blue wire?" Griffen suggested, attempting to keep out of the line of fire. Barn did so and finally the hum of power showed that the current had been restored.

"Your turn," he said to Kitra, moving out of the way. Kitra punched the code in and this time the hatch began to respond, but so very slowly.

"Come on!" Kitra shouted to Tarrant and Soolin.

They both fired one more salvo and then dove for the partially open hatchway, whilst Kitra provided further cover. Griffen followed after and Kitra pushed Barn towards it.

Seeing their quarry eluding them, the Federation troopers threw caution to the wind and rushed towards the opening. Kitra continued to fire until she was backed up against the hatch, then turned her gun to the controls and fired, destroying it completely. Like a spring the hatch door began to close quickly and Kitra dove through it into the waiting arms of the others. The troopers continued to shoot and one shot struck her leg as she stumbled through. Barn pulled her clear, turning his body to protect her and they both fell against the far wall as the hatch closed with a loud clang.

Tarrant was already on the intercom instructing Vila to disengage, then he and Soolin dragged Barn and Kitra out of the conduit, locking down the separating door, and into safety. They all fell and clung to the walls as Pegasus disengaged clumsily from the station and sought the relative safety of open space.

When the motion had smoothed out Griffen and Vila came at a run. Tarrant was kneeling beside Kitra examining her wounded leg.

"Are you all right?" Vila asked anxiously, seeing the blood.

Kitra grimaced but nodded, "It's not bad."

"You were lucky this is all you got," Tarrant said, helping her to her feet. "Next time don't try and make a last stand."

"Didn't have much choice that time."

"Kit," Soolin said, and they all turned towards her. She was kneeling next to Barn, who leant back against the wall. Soolin looked up at them and they could read the situation on her face. Kitra hobbled over and knelt down beside her awkwardly. Reaching out a hand she turned Barn's face, seeing the vacant eyes, before letting it fall again. A spreading crimson stain at the base of the wall told the story.

Griffen's ball sank to the floor beside his friend. "I'm so sorry, Barn. You were almost free."

Kitra hung her head, then shook it. "You fool," she said softly to Barn. "That shot was meant for me." Soolin glanced over at her. She saw the look and explained. "When I was shot and he pulled me through, he was shielding me with his body." She glanced back at Barn. "That one would have killed me."

"He always did have a big heart." Griffen said quietly. "That's what made him such a good doctor. If he hadn't been such a brilliant research scientist he would have been happy to remain a simple medic."

Kitra struggled to her feet, using the wall for support. "Back to the flight deck." she said. "We've still got to get out of this sector and we're no longer sneaking out quietly. Tarrant, get Orac to run the contingency plan and take over."

They hesitated a moment before realising that she wanted to be left alone and went out. Kitra turned to where Griffen still lay on the floor. She reached a hand down to rest it on his covering.

"I'm sorry, Griffen," she said, reaching out with her empathy to penetrate the metal shell to touch the mind within. "He was a good man."

"He was my best friend during our time at the Academy. We did everything together. He was always bringing home stray cats and dogs, always had a 'cause' he wanted to follow." Griffen let out a short bitter laugh. "I always said that he would die a hero."

Kitra could feel Griffen's hurt at the loss of Barn. It is not easy to find a friend again, only to lose them. She knew that the others frequently forgot that Griffen was much more than just the metal shell protecting him, that he was still human.

Leaning down awkwardly she picked him up and cradled him in her arms, holding him tightly to her chest. He may not be able to cry, having no eyes or tear ducts, but he cried in his mind. Dropping her barriers, she reached deeper into his mind and gently drew his pain away, sending comforting tendrils back, letting him feel her love and caring for him. Gradually, she felt his hurt easing. It would take time for it to completely heal and she could not hurry that but, for the time being, she had helped.

"You had better get that leg looked at." Griffen finally said, his voice sounding thick with emotion.

"I suppose I had. A bit of antiseptic and synthoflesh and it'll be fine." She replied, dragging herself upright.

"You should stay off it for a few days. Give it a good chance to heal."

"Maybe. We could all do with a break. Wonder where we could go to relax for a while. Somewhere nice," she mused as she hobbled off down the corridor, still cradling Griffen.

"Ask Orac. He should be able to dig something up." Griffen replied.

"Yes. Somewhere quiet."


	11. Part 4: Restoration Chapter 1

Title: Sojourn: Part 4 – Restoration

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Part 4: Chapter 1

"What's that?" one of the guards asked, pointing. The other shrugged.

"Some sort of art form, I think. The High Commissioner brought it here years ago."

"Why not to Headquarters? She never comes here anymore."

"Guess it's not worth her bother. It's only art." They walked out of the room, the door closing behind them and the lights dimming.

Some time after, a faint glow surrounded the object of their discussion. Upon first glance it appeared to be a sculpture of a man suspended in liquid, with leads attached to various parts of the body; arms, legs, head, torso. It actually had a soothing aspect, with bubbles rising gently upwards. It hung there, still and lifeless. But as full darkness descended in the room, the leads began to quiver, then slowly the arms and legs began to jerk in a parody of walking.

If you had been able to examine the leads it would be found that they were stimulating the muscles within the body, making them react as though to exercise and heavy work load. The heart rate increased, the blood pressure rose. If the body was able to sweat it would have. In this manner, the muscles were kept firm and reasonably fit. There was little deterioration of the physique except that made by the general passage of time. After an half hour of this intensive, silent workout the electrical impulses ceased and all was still once more.

What was happening? the thought formed. How long had he been like this - in pure darkness, no sound, no sight, no taste, no feeling. He didn't even know if he had a body or not. He knew time had gone by but how much - a day, a week, a month, longer? It was commonly believed that no thinking organism could survive for long when deprived of all sensation. For humans, they tended to go mad very quickly. But he wasn't mad yet. Maybe it hadn't been that long after all. It was difficult to think in terms of time with nothing to gauge against. And he was not one to give up.

At first he had thought he would go mad. He came to his senses to find everything gone, there were only his thoughts - jumbled, confused, guilt ridden, painful. Past memories came flooding back; past loves, past mistakes. His every thought and deed came back to haunt him. Then he truly did think he would go mad. The emotional onslaught threatened to tip him over the edge to insanity. But he confronted that attack, refusing to give way before the barrage. He examined every thought, word, emotion, action, in its separateness and entirety. He pulled, probed and prodded the most inner and hidden aspects of his personality from his earliest memories to the most recent. And each ghost he faced and laid to rest.

Some were harder to deal with than others, refusing to be placated but he persevered. The hardest were those that forgave him, when he could not forgive himself. He knew they forgave him - was that part of madness? - and there was a sense of unfulfillment where one was concerned, as though he had cheated her of something. Yes, there was unfinished business, and until it was completed that ghost would not be satisfied.

'Then we will finish it.', he thought to it, or himself, and the ghost accepted his promise and faded.

How long this self analysis took he could not tell. When finally his thoughts had settled and he had purged the worst, the darkness was the next threat, waiting to engulf him. But he escaped it by reciting every bit of knowledge he had learnt; mathematical equations, computer components, programming, information gathered from the data banks over the years, old children's stores. Yes, he would bide his time, until he was able to do more. For some reason he was certain he would have another chance. Maybe that was his madness.

The inky blackness made another attempt to overwhelm him and resolutely he pushed it away.

'Not this time', he thought to it - himself. 'Not ever', and a stream of Machule's theories on quantum physics overrode the darkness as Avon waited.

"Well, this is more like it!" Vila said with pleasure, throwing himself down onto the bed.

Tarrant grinned and appraised the room also. "You've got a better view than mine," he admitted.

Vila stood up to look out the window. "They must know better quality when they see it," he said loftily.

Tarrant snorted and turned at a knock on the door. Opening it he found Kitra and Soolin standing there, Griffen tucked under Kit's arm. He beckoned them in.

"Nice view," Soolin said. Vila smiled smugly.

"So, have you decided what to do?" Tarrant asked, taking a seat.

Kitra placed Griffen on the table and sat also. "I'll meet my contact and decide from there." she shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. Either way we've got a couple of days to spare. The meeting's tomorrow evening, and if I don't accept the contract we won't have any trouble. At least for another day or two."

"There have been problems before," Tarrant reminded her, thinking of the last couple of times where they had barely escaped with their lives.

Kitra remained unperturbed. "There will always be a few troubles," She grimaced, "You can't be in this type of business and not expect some problems, but this time I'm pretty certain. I've dealt with this contact before and I know them. They wouldn't sell me out to the Federation for anything. That's why I know we'll have at least two days grace after the meeting, whether I accept or decline. After that we'd be pushing our luck. There are too many others who would sell me out. It would take probably two days for the information to filter down that I'm here before someone will act. We'll be gone before that happens."

"Then I think we should have a bit of relaxation. For medicinal reasons, of course." Vila said.

"Of course," Soolin agreed sarcastically.

"What you decide to do is up to you. You've all got your own funds. Just remember, if you blow it all in the first day, you don't get anymore." The last statement was said directly to Vila who tried to look innocent. "I'll show you around a little tomorrow to give you a rough idea of what's here and places to avoid. After dinner I'll keep my appointment."

"I don't like you going alone." Tarrant put in.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "I told you, I know these people. And they won't meet me if I come with anyone else. They know that I've always worked alone. I haven't made it known that any of you are with me. That keeps us all safe." She stood up. "I don't know about any of you, but I'm going to have an early night." She tucked Griffen under her arm and turned to the door. "Good night," and was gone.

"Well?" said Vila, looking at his two remaining companions.

"Well what?" Soolin queried.

"I know there's a casino downstairs. Care for a quick drink?"

Soolin glanced across at Tarrant and then smiled.

"Why not?" agreed Tarrant.

Vila's smile stretched from ear to ear.

The next morning found Kitra up early as usual, carrying Griffen along the corridors. She knocked on Soolin's door and it quickly opened to admit her. Soolin was just finishing the touches to her hair. She had braided a brilliant blue ribbon through her blond plait. Kitra was quite envious of Soolin's hair, she kept her own fairly short.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yes." Soolin replied, standing. She locked the door behind them and they moved onto Tarrant's, a couple of doors down. He, too, was ready and stepped into the corridor immediately upon seeing who was there.

When they reached Vila's door they had to knock three times before it was opened by a bleary-eyed man.

Kitra looked him up and down and sighed. "Did you spend all your money on drink?"

"Don't shout," Vila said with a pained expression, although Kitra had spoken quite normally. They entered his rooms as he slouched across to a dispenser and ordered a coffee.

Tarrant chuckled at Vila's miserable state. "We told you not to try those drinks."

"What drinks?" Kitra asked.

"They were called a Verin's Special." Soolin said, also amused at Vila's condition.

"Gutrotters!" Kitra said with a laugh.

"What?"

"They're commonly known as 'gutrotters'," she explained. "The locals don't touch it unless they are determined to become blind drunk in a couple of glasses. They can be addictive, and if you drink it too much it literally rots your innards. Something in the mixture breaks down the molecules of the internal organs. I would strongly advise not trying it again."

"You mean I'm going to die!" Vila exclaimed, eyes widening.

"Of course not, Vila. You only had a couple of drinks. You'll probably feel sick most of the day but you'll be fine. Just don't drink anymore of them."

"I won't be. I can promise that."

He had finished his coffee and now disappeared into the bathroom to try and freshen up and change. Whilst he was gone Kitra went to the dispenser and began punching in a code. Soon a half glass of a greenish liquid appeared.

"What's that?" Soolin asked indicating the mixture.

"A cure for Vila's hangover."

"Does it work?"

"I've had it on good authority it does, on about four different planets. So I think it should work on Vila."

Just then Vila emerged, looking a little better but his skin still had a greyish tinge. Kitra handed him the glass.

"What's this?" he asked, suspiciously.

"A vitamin boost," Kitra lied with a straight face. "You need it."

"It looks horrible."

"Just drink it."

He brought it closer to his face and screwed his nose up. "It smells horrible too."

"Vila," Kitra said, warningly.

He tried to pass the glass back. "Thanks, but no thanks. Anything that looks, and smells, that bad can't be good for me."

Not taking the glass, Kitra replied patiently. "Vila, if you do not drink it yourself, I will sit on you, hold your nose and pour it down your throat. One way or another, you will drink it."

Vila looked at her a moment more and then closing his eyes, he downed it in one swallow, screwing his face up in distaste. He opened his eyes and handed the glass back to her.

"Happy?" he said grumpily.

"Delirious," she answered with a straight face.

Suddenly Vila's face changed to a look of surprise, his hands grabbed his stomach, his eyes opened wide and he rushed into the bathroom. They could hear violent retching coming through the door.

Tarrant looked over at Kitra. "Is it supposed to do that?", indicating with his head towards the closed bathroom door.

She shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm betting that whatever's in Vila's stomach is probably better out than in."

Not long after Vila emerged from the bathroom. He looked a little pale, but his skin had lost that grey/green hue and he didn't stagger any longer when he walked.

"You look better." Tarrant told him.

"I feel awful," he said mournfully. He glared at Kitra. "Are you trying to kill me?"

She laughed. "If I wanted to do that, Vila, there are a lot more direct methods for doing so. Come on, or the whole day will be wasted."

"I can't walk," Vila moaned, seating himself.

"Oh, yes, you can," Tarrant said, hauling him to his feet and propelling him towards the door. "You are going to be bursting with energy and keep up with whatever we do today."

"That drink actually was a vitamin boost, Vila." Kitra assured him. "You'll have plenty of energy soon."

Vila did not look convinced but had little choice but to follow them.

"How did it go?" Griffen asked as soon as Kitra entered the room.

She threw herself down on the bed before speaking. "Fine. I didn't pick up anything out of the ordinary on this one. It's very tiring doing this." She rubbed her eyes with one hand.

"I know, Kit, but we've had too many close calls in the past couple of years. Now with Vila, Tarrant and Soolin on board, we have to be doubly careful. If the Federation get any idea that they are with us we'll never escape them." There was a ring from the dispenser nearby. "Take that. I rang up a restorative."

"Thanks." She took a sip and felt the soma immediately begin to relax muscles tensed up. She lay back on the bed with a grateful sigh, as Griffen continued speaking.

"We need this extra edge to stay ahead of the Federation, Kit. We can't let them know anything more about us than what they already do. And we have to try and keep the others a secret from them as well."

"I'm surprised they don't already know." She said, taking another sip from her glass.

"I'm not. It's pretty hard to put all the bits and pieces together and we've not exactly been leaving a trail for them to follow. That Vila's escaped I'll admit that they are probably aware of that. But from what I can gather, the Federation always seemed to pass Vila off as an inconsequential anyway, so they may not be worrying overly much about him.

In Tarrant's case, since he was buried in a new identity it may take quite some time for word to get back to the people initially responsible for his condition that he has gone missing. Don't forget that the Federation files list him as Saran Turak, Federation Space Captain, not as Del Tarrant, wanted felon.

As for Soolin, well, she probably isn't listed anywhere. They probably had no idea if she was dead or alive when we found her, and certainly wouldn't have any idea that she is gone. Remember what Vila and Tarrant said about the place? There are no records kept or anything on the state of the prisoners so if they died the Federation doesn't do anything and wouldn't even know half the time.

So for the moment, all three of them are still anonymous and that's the way it needs to be. Also none of them are linked with you yet, which keeps us safer. The Federation would like to get their hands on you badly enough, without the added incentive of knowing they are with you."

"I know, Griffen. But I don't think I can keep this up. It's too difficult." She finished the drink and stood up to look out the window, rolling her neck to ease the muscles.

"You can, and you know it. We need that added edge of knowing what they are feeling."

"But it's not accurate enough this way." She argued, though it was an old argument. "To get a clear picture I need to have physical contact and to be in a position that I can enter deeply into the other person. This way I'm only getting a superficial reading."

"Which is better than nothing," Griffen put in firmly. "What about Pasten III? That contract looked fine on the surface, even Orac couldn't find out any information that would make us think twice about it. If you hadn't used your empathic abilities at the meeting you would never have known that there was a blood feud that the contact blamed you for and was setting you up. If you hadn't picked that up we would have all been dead. I don't like causing you this pain, I know what it does to you and why, but we've got no choice now. To stay alive we have to do it."

Kitra sighed as she turned away from the window, shutting memories away, and walked to where Griffen lay. She rested a hand on his shell. "I know you're right, Griffen," she said softly. "And, yes, I'll continue to do it. I just don't like it. I worry that I will lose what little sanity I have left."

"Kitra, if you ever feel that things are totally beyond your control, tell me." Griffen said firmly, "I am not asking you to kill yourself for us. But I sometimes think that you need to use your abilities more to bring them under control. By letting them lie dormant as you have done and only using them in times of great stress or need, could be what's straining the bonds of your control. If you use them you may be able to refine them, hone them, and put some restraints upon them. Work with me on this and we can try and help you."

She sat next to him on the bed. "You may be correct. Maybe I do need to use the powers more and see if I can build my barriers better. At the moment it is a case of all or nothing. If I drop my barriers I leave myself wide open to every emotion that is being emitted from anyone in the vicinity which it way too over-whelming. I need to find a way to break the barriers down a step at a time, so I can filter the emotions and pinpoint the ones I want to read."

"Then we can try different ways of doing so," Griffen said. "We can do this, Kitra. But you have to be willing to try yourself."

"You mean it's time to stop running away from the past?" she said with a grim smile.

"Yes. Now it's time to face it, and fight back."

"How is it, Griffen, that you always know the right things to say to me?" she said fondly, looking at him with a gentle smile.

"Maybe because you were there for me when I needed you, now I'm here for you because you need me. And, maybe because we have both been to the brink of insanity and fought our way back from it."

Kitra thought Griffen was far too correct in his assessment. She suddenly stretched, saying, "Well, I'm ready for some sleep. I'm not going to sit up waiting for the others to return from where ever they've gallivanted off to for the night. There's nothing to tell them that can't wait till morning."

"I'll check in with Orac." Griffen said as she moved off the bed.

"All right," Kitra disappeared into the bathroom whilst Griffen patched into the communications frequency and contacted Orac on the 'Pegasus' at the space port.

"How's everything going?" he asked.

"All systems are functioning normally. Repairs have been carried out. Some minor adjustments will need to be made by the human personnel of the ship."

Kitra exited from the bathroom wrapped in a towel as Griffen replied. "Good. Anything else?"

"I urgently request that yourself and Kitra return to the ship."

"What? Why?" Kitra said, startled by this request.

"I do not wish to discuss it over the communication channels. I will await your arrival."

"I'll contact the others." Griffen said.

"I do not advise doing so." Orac words halted him.

"Why not?" Kitra asked, becoming more puzzled and not a little alarmed.

"I do not believe it would be advisable. Only the two of you can be privy to the information I will impart, and only the two of you can act upon it."

Kitra looked at Griffen in bewilderment, wondering what was going on. "Don't ask me." Griffen said to her unspoken query. "I have no idea what he's up to - and he's not going to tell us now. We may as well get back to the ship."

Kitra sighed. She had been eager to have a hot bath and get some sleep. She always felt drained when having used her empathic abilities and sleep was the best restorative. Still she nodded in resignation. "I'll get changed, then we'll go."

When they reached Pegasus's flight deck the interior lights came on as Orac registered their presence. Griffen settled on the counter next to Orac's humming box while Kitra took a seat, resting her elbows in front of her, chin in her hands.

"Okay, Orac, what is it?" she asked wearily.

"I believe I have located Kerr Avon."

Kitra stared in shock. Orac had had no luck in finding any traces of what had happened to Avon after Guada Prime. It was as though he had vanished completely. Privately Kitra and Griffen had concluded that he had perished on that planet and would not be found.

Now here was Orac saying that he had found him. And Orac would not say that if he were not nearly 100 certain.

"Where?" she finally managed to ask.

"It would appear that he is to be found in the Space Headquarters located in the Guntina Sector."

"Space Headquarters!" Griffen said, shocked. "Good grief, Orac! We can't try and raid Space Headquarters for someone! What's he doing there? Is he in the interrogation section? A technician? What?"

"None of those mentioned. He is being kept a prisoner but you will locate him in the private rooms of the Supreme Commander."

Kitra's eyes widened further and she shook her head. "Orac, it would be suicide. There's no way we could dock at Space Headquarters undetected, enter the Supreme Commander's private rooms, grab someone, and get out again." She shook her head again. "No, it's impossible. We can't risk that much for one person."

She got to her feet tiredly. She could keep this a secret from the others, but she felt that she should tell them that there was no possible way for Avon to be rescued and they should give up the hope of doing so.

Orac's voice brought her back to the present.

"It is not impossible, by any means. This particular Space Headquarters remains vacant, except for minor personnel. It has been abandoned by the Federation military and is to be modified into an engineering academy so only technicians and a few Federation troopers are based there. There are no restrictions on space traffic arriving as freighters dock there frequently to off-load goods and also to remove any salvageable items. The Supreme Commander has visited there a total of three times in the past four years. It would be no more difficult to enter this station than it has been other times. In fact, it would prove far more accessible at this time."

Kitra couldn't help but mull over what Orac had said. If it was all true, then Orac was completely correct. Now would be the best time to go. "What do you think?" she said, turning to Griffen.

"It actually does sound like we could do it." he agreed almost reluctantly.

"You think so?" She chewed on her lip, still thinking. It was still a risk though.

"We should try, Kit. This may be the only chance we'll have of getting Avon out if he is actually there. When's the modifications to be finished?" he queried from Orac.

"Two months."

"Hmm. Doesn't leave us much time, and the closer to the due date the more people will be present and that makes it harder for us."

Kitra made up her mind. "All right. When do we go?"

"I would suggest that you leave now." Orac put in.

"Now? Why?" Kitra was a little startled by Orac's insistence.

"The best time to put this plan into practice is at this moment. We are closer to the Guntina system from here than our current base, so flight time is less. Also you have no pressing engagements at the moment whilst later you do."

"There is that," Kitra agreed. "I'll get the others to meet us here."

"No," Orac said emphatically.

"No? Now what, Orac?" Kitra was beginning to feel exasperated with being blocked at every turn. "Why don't you want us to tell the others?"

"I do not know in what state of mind Avon will be in. He was a complex example for a human being."

"That's an understatement from what Vila and the others have said," Griffen put in.

"That may be so." Orac continued, "However, if his mind is unstable or he attempts to trap you, you may be placed in a position of having to destroy him."

Kitra sat back down heavily. "So you think I'm the only one that may be able, or willing, to do that? You don't think the others would?"

"I didn't think Tarrant or Soolin would have a problem." Griffen said. "There doesn't appear a great deal of love lost there."

"They would hesitate simply because of the fact that they had known Avon previously. That hesitation could prove fatal." Orac stated.

"Makes sense," Griffen agreed with that assessment.

"Okay," Kitra accepted the decision. "Get the ship ready for lift off. Orac, clear my bill at the hotel and leave a message for Vila at his room. Say we've had to leave to do a job and I'll be back in a couple of days." She looked at them. "Let's go."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Tarrant said, glaring at Vila.

"Just that!" Vila shouted back. "She's gone!"

"Why?"

"I don't know! All I've got is this message slip that I found this morning. I checked the space port and Pegasus lifted off last night. Look!" He thrust the note at Tarrant who took it to read. After scanning the couple of lines he passed it to Soolin.

"She says she's doing a job." Soolin looked up. "Could it be the one she met about last night?"

Tarrant shook his head. "No. I know she wasn't expecting to do anything for a few days, and she can pretty well pick and choose when she does a job so it brings in the best profit or least danger. Besides, if it was that job she would have told us and had us go along. It's not like anything was a secret between us. As far as work is concerned. No, this is something different. Something unexpected came up and it's something that she didn't want any of us to know about."

"Maybe it's dangerous and she thought we'd try and talk her out of it?" Vila put in beginning to sound worried.

"It's a possibility," Soolin agreed. "Or it could be something from her past. Griffen's gone with her and if it was just an issue of danger he would be as adamant about caution as we would. Worse actually."

"But Griffen has to go along anyway," Tarrant said.

Soolin shook her head. "No, he doesn't. If she wanted to, Kitra could have left him here as well. She can pilot the ship on her own, and she would still have Orac. No, she wanted Griffen along so it must be something that the two of them are in agreement with."

"Well, what do we do now?" Vila said plaintively.

Soolin shrugged, "We wait. She says that she'll be back in a couple of days. We can't exactly get passage back to the base. It looks like we'll have that holiday you wanted after all."

"I don't want it now." Vila moaned.

"Look, Vila, we can't do anything about it. So enjoy yourself."

Vila still didn't look happy.


	12. Part 4 Chapter 2

Title: Sojourn: Part 4 – Restoration

Author: JadeHeart

Located/Archived: If anyone would like it, please ask me first!

Creation Date: 1994

Fandom: Blakes 7

Rating: M

Timeline: A few years after the end of the TV series.

Original Characters: Kitra and Griffen are mine.

Summary: Fate brings the players from the past to gather again.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the idea/outline/characters of Blake's 7, this belongs to the original creators, nor am I making any profits from this.

Chapter 2

"We've got clearance." Griffen said, breaking the silence.

Kitra breathed a sigh of relief. For all Orac's assurances that the station would take little notice of another freighter wishing to dock, she had still been half expecting to have them open fire on Pegasus. "Okay, Griffen, take her in. Follow all instructions to the letter. We don't want them thinking we're doing anything unusual."

Following the instructions beamed to them, Griffen docked the ship with his usual skill. Kitra stretched before standing and picking him up, tucking him under one arm.

"Orac, keep in constant contact and direct us. I don't want to be wandering around in there any more than necessary."

"Of course,"

"Let's go then." she said to Griffen, making her way towards the hold.

Once the ship was docked securely, they had been instructed that they would have access to the left quadrant only, and if they required access to the rest of the station they were to enquire from station personnel for the relevant pass. Kitra had decided to try and do as much as possible legally, so the first thing she did was to stop one of the station technicians and ask if there were any electronic components that she could salvage in the other area. The technician was more than helpful and directed her to the next section, even providing the access code to those doors. After thanking him, she followed the corridor he had indicated and once they were out of site, released Griffen.

With him floating at her shoulder she spoke to Orac through the communicator. "Have you got a fix on us, Orac?"

"The tracking device is functioning adequately at this time." Came the prompt response.

"Where to from here?" she looked up and down the three intersecting corridors.

Orac began giving brisk directions which they followed carefully. The access code the technician had given them allowed them to pass the first three doors before they were forced to halt.

"This looks like as far as we can go," Kitra said, motioning Griffen to move closer. "Your turn,"

Metallic tendrils stretched from Griffen's shell and touched the door's lock. After a few moments the door swung open. "Orac?"

"No alarm has registered in the station."

"That's a relief. Keep monitoring though in case there's some form of delay to it."

"If you insist," Orac sounded a little peeved.

"I do." Kitra insisted, "Now where?"

They continued to follow Orac's instructions, opening four more doors along the way. The corridors they were traversing were dimly lit with emergency lighting only to save power. It gave an eerie appearance over their surroundings. Kitra shivered. "I don't like this place," she said.

"It's a little unnerving," Griffen agreed. "We're not far away now though."

Finally they halted outside the door that Orac said lead to the Supreme Commander's private quarters. Upon closer inspection of the lock, Griffen found that there was an alarm connected to this one, unlike the previous doors they had opened.

"Now what?" Griffen asked.

Kitra pondered for a moment, trying to think of a solution when Orac's voice came to them over the communicator as he had been monitoring their conversation, "If you wish to open the door, I can set up a brief electrical surge that will disrupt the alarm so it doesn't sound."

"Do it," Kitra commanded taking advantage of this opportunity. Griffen set to work on the door with his probes and upon Orac's final command, let it slide open.

Inside was dark and Kitra felt a strange sensation emanating from the room, a feeling that she couldn't define clearly, but it made her hesitate to step over the threshold and into the dark room before them.

Griffen noticed her reluctance, "What's up?" he asked quietly, not moving forward himself.

She shook her head in response, "Something's wrong in there. I... don't know what, but something's not right. I sense..." her voice trailed off as she frowned.

"What?" Griffen pressed.

She shook her head again, as though clearing her mind. "I don't know. I can't pinpoint it. Be careful. If I'm picking up this emanation with my barriers up it must be strong, so watch your self. Let's get this over with."

Carefully she entered the room, hugging the wall, Griffen following. She felt along the wall near the door in search of light activators and felt her fingers brush over the controls. Slowly the lights brightened in the room, the light increasing from a dull orange to a clear white.

She looked around the area. It was a fairly sparse office; a large desk, a low couch and table, a couple of chairs, a dispenser in the corner. There were no personal touches, though there was a faint outline on one wall where a picture must have hung at one time. Apart from that, the room was bare.

"You blew it, Orac," she said out loud. "There's no-one here. This is the only room to these quarters and it's simply an office, nothing else." She ran a finger over the desk, noticing the black smudge. "And no-one's been here for a while from the looks of it." She turned to where Griffen hovered. "Looks like we just wasted a trip."

She turned and began to make her way to the door when Griffen called to her sharply, "Kit! Look!"

Spinning quickly her eyes widened as part of the far wall slid aside to reveal a human male floating in liquid. She stared at it in horror and took a backwards set as the sensations she had felt before grew stronger, almost like a physical blow.

"Gods! Griffen, come! Let's get out of here!" she turned away again, ready to flee, irrational fear taking hold on a purely instinctual level.

"Kitra," Orac's voice halted her. "That is Avon. He is in complete physical suspended animation. You must attempt to free him."

She glanced over her shoulder with a look of disgust and horror on her face. "That's Avon?" she said, pity in her voice.

"Yes. He has been like that since his capture on Guada Prime."

She shuddered. "It's obscene," She shook her head. "Look, if he's been in there that long, he would be entirely dependent upon whatever is keeping him alive. If we take him out of there he'll probably die, and we don't have the facilities on board Pegasus to help him." She was searching for excuses and she knew it, as did Griffen and Orac.

"To an extent, you are correct. I do not know if he will survive retrieval from the chamber, but death would certainly be preferable to remaining in that state." At that Kitra could only agree, but it didn't lessen her loathing at the object she could see.

"Kitra, when you extract him you will need to stabilise his condition. If his physical condition can acclimatise to the change all we need to worry about is his mind. You can do that."

She shook her head, backing away, never taking her eyes from what was before her. "No. No, I can't do it."

"Yes, you can." Orac insisted calmly.

She looked at Griffen with eyes wide and, for the first time since their initial meeting, he saw fear plainly written there. "Griffen. I sense... madness." she whispered.

"Are you saying he's insane?" he asked, for if Avon was mad perhaps it would be a kindness to simply kill him and not attempt anything else.

"I..." she began then shuddered, "I can't risk opening up to him, Griffen. All I can feel is churning emotions, all mixed up and intertwined. They are so strong. I have rarely met any human with such a strong mind." She continued to look at Avon. "It is as though the mind is so much stronger than the body, almost as though it were a separate identity in itself."

"Like a split personality?" Griffen asked.

Kitra shook her head, "No, nothing like that. It's just…" she grasped for a way to explain herself. "It is just that it feels like the mind is all that is keeping him alive, that the body is merely an extension of it, and a minor extension at that. I know I'm not making much sense here."

Griffen cleared his figurative throat, "Kitra, we don't know for certain what's going on here. Perhaps he is mad, he may be, but we don't know for sure, so we've got to at least try. He's been through a great deal, and we both know about the sort of things that can push a person to the brink of insanity. We know how close we can come to that but we also know that we can step back from that point - and usually we need some help to do it. Could you turn your back on him, knowing that you may be the only chance he has?"

Kitra stared at Griffen knowing he was right, but dreading it all the more. "All right," she finally agreed, gathering her courage.

Griffen moved closer to her until he was resting on her shoulder near her neck. "I understand the danger you'll be facing, Kit, and I know what it'll cost you but I'm here. And I won't leave you."

She nodded sharply, accepting his assurance. Taking a deep breath she spoke again, "Okay, Orac, what do we do?"

"You'll have to remove Avon from the support chamber. The controls will probably be found at the side of it in some place." Orac instructed.

Steeling herself Kitra moved closer, avoiding looking at Avon's silent form. Seeing a faint hairline crack, she pressed upon a section of the wall and it slid aside to reveal a panel of switches and buttons. "I've found it."

"Very well. You must follow my instructions precisely. Any deviation will most likely result in his death. Once he is removed from the chamber you must hold him stabilised until back on the ship."

"Hold on," Kitra turned to Griffen. "Try and find a float pallet. We'll need something to put him on to try and get back to the ship."

"Will do," and Griffen slipped out the door into the darkness.

Kitra tried not to let the feeling of abandonment overwhelm her at being left alone in the room. Taking a deep breath she turned back to the wall with its gruesome display. "Okay, Orac. Go ahead."

With utmost care Kitra followed Orac's instructions, pressing the appropriate switches and buttons in the order he told her, watching the flights flash, change colour and the monitors shiver in reaction. Gradually the fluid drained away, then grapples descended and grasped Avon's body, turning him so he lay horizontal, limbs hanging awkwardly.

At that moment Griffen returned and Kitra turned at his approach. "This do?" he asked, bringing his burden to a halt. It was a long container, approximately six foot in length and three feet wide. Kitra flipped the lid up and found that the sides also folded down.

"Perfect. We can put him inside and no-one will be the wiser. We'll have to put some things on top in case we're stopped by anyone, but we should get through without a problem."

"How are you going here?" Griffen moved closer to the window.

"Last phase," Griffen could hear the fear in her voice. With an audible breath she said, "Let's get this over with."

Pressing the final switches the glass frontage rolled down and the grapples extended forward this time until Avon's body was past the walled recess. Kitra manoeuvred the float pallet under him and directed the grapples so they lowered at the touch of another switch until the body was resting within the container Griffen had bought.

"Ready?" she asked Griffen, looking over at him where he hovered near the feet.

"Ready," he responded.

This was the final step, and the most hazardous to Kitra. Once the grapples withdraw so would all the life supporting tendrils, like fine spider webs, connected to Avon. At that moment it would be up to Kitra to provide the support until Avon stabilised, if he did.

Tensely, she depressed the last button and the grapples withdrew. Immediately she extended her senses and with a gasp, her hands came up before her in a gesture of self defence. Her eyes closed and she quivered all over. When her eyes opened a moment after, Griffen could see the struggle taking place, the first signs of madness beginning to show in her face.

"Hold on, Kit!" he urged, coming closer quickly. "You can do it."

She shook her head minutely. "Can't," she whispered hoarsely, "I..." her voice faltered.

"Kit!" Griffen came to hover in front of her. "Hold me, Kit! I can support you. Let me help you. Use my strength!"

With trembling arms she enfolded them around Griffen's silver shell and hugged him closely to her chest, letting his positive emotions flow into her, bolstering her faltering reserves. She closed her eyes again, shutting out everything around her and focusing entirely on her task. Her entire body quivered in exertion as she battled the effects of Avon's unstable physical and mental state, and beads of perspiration touched her forehead.

Slowly, the shaking lessened and she released her grip on Griffen, as she opened her eyes which were clearer now. "His vital signs have stabilised," she said, as Griffen floated clear. Her eyes still had a wide staring aspect to them and there was a slight quiver in her voice, but she seemed under control once more. Her hands hovered over Avon's still body, clenching and unclenching in a nervous reaction. "We have to get him back to the ship - fast. I can't hold this for long." Her eyes closed briefly before opening once more.

"What is it?" Griffen asked, seeing the play of emotions over her features but they were too fast for him to put a name to any of them.

"I... I don't know. I can't explain." She frowned a little.

"Is he truly mad?" Griffen asked, moving closer to the body laid out before them.

"I...don't know." She turned haunted eyes upon Griffen. "If he is not, he is as close to madness as any of us are likely to walk." Griffen knew that she did not exaggerate and could see that she was barely holding together under the strain.

"Come on then," he instructed, "Close up and throw the tarp over. Let's go."

Unsteadily she did so and they pushed the float pallet out into the darkness and began to make their way back to the ship. "Hold on," Griffen said.

"What?" Kitra questioned. "I need to get back, Griffen."

"We will," he assured her. "But we have to put some things on top of the pallet. Remember, we don't want them looking inside."

She ran a hand over her eyes, trying to bring her mind back into focus upon the present. "Yes, you're right."

"This room is full of bits and pieces. Just pile them on top and throw the tarp over the lot. That should be safe enough." Quickly Kitra did so and then they continued on their way, with Griffen settled on top of the pallet.

When they reached the loading dock, Kitra could feel the relief begin as she felt they were close to their destination and the opportunity to be released from her burden. A hail from behind made them halt and Kitra was hard pressed not to draw her hidden gun, shoot the approaching technician and make a run for her ship. She knew this irrational urge came from the need to be free of Avon's mind which could only happen once he was safely in the medical unit on board Pegasus. She took a deep breath and waited for the technician to approach them, noting that it was the same one who had directed them earlier.

"Did you have any luck?" he asked, his manner friendly.

Kitra gave a weak smile in response. "A few things," she replied, "I'm hoping that once I sort through it there will be enough to have made the trip worthwhile."

"What did you get?" he asked, curiousity in his voice.

With nervous anticipation for trouble, Kitra flipped an end of the tarp up so the technician could view what was beneath. He gave a casual glance over it and gave a nod. "In the right market you could probably do all right with that stuff."

"That's what I'm hoping," she replied as she flipped the tarp down.

He gave a harder look at her and his expression changed to one of concern.

"Are you okay? You look pretty sick."

She smiled weakly again. "Must be the gravity," she lied. "I'm used to much lighter. I didn't think about it before."

"You got the necessary equipment on your ship to counter the balance?" he asked. "If you need it, we've got facilities here. The med unit's still functional."

"I'll be fine, thanks. Just need to get back to the ship and get rid of this load." She had never said a truer word.

"You sure?" She nodded. "Well, okay. I'll let you go. Good luck with your business."

"Thanks," and with a wave he left her and she moved quickly onto the ship.

As soon as they entered Kitra headed for the med unit. "Orac, get us out of here! Back to the others!" Griffen shouted, then followed Kitra's disappearing form.

She entered the med unit almost at a run and with a frantic sweep of her arms, she pushed the junk piled on top of the container to the floor, heedless of the noise and mess. Dropping the sides of the pallet and opening the lid, she pushed a med table hard up against it.

Reinforcing her shielding she reached out and grasped Avon's shoulders. The physical contact sent a psychic shock wave through her that nearly brought her to her knees. Almost sobbing she heaved and managed to get his torso upon the table. Moving to the other end of the table she did the same to his feet.Once he was upon the table and laid out straight she pushed it over the life-support chamber. With frantic fingers she hooked him up to the unit. As the machine hummed into life and the readouts began, Kitra broke the mental link.

With a gasp of pain she stumbled backwards until hitting the far wall, sliding down it till she sat on the floor. Tears ran down her face and she cradled her head. Griffen moved away from his position where he had waited silently during her ordeal, unable to assist her in the physical struggle.

He drew close to her and hovered at eye level. "Kit?" he said quietly, knowing how sensitive she was likely to be in all her senses, hearing included. "You okay?"

She raised a tear stained face to regard him, the signs of the strain were clearly evident. She closed her eyes briefly, but nodded. "I will be," She rubbed the tears away and took a deep breath, before releasing it slowly. Griffen could see the muscles in her neck relax a little. "Now."

"Why did it affect you so badly?" Griffen asked. "You've stabilised people physically before without this much pain, and you've delved into minds before also. You helped Tarrant without this sort of reaction."

"This was different. The physical side of things wouldn't have been a problem, tiring certainly but not a problem. With Tarrant his memories were behind a block so all I had to do was break that down. Avon ... his mind and body are like two separate entities. Whilst I was trying to stabilise his body I had to also combat the mind." She shook her head. "Griffen, I can't explain it well enough for you to understand, but his mind is... incredible. I have never encountered a mind so strong in a human before. He... sensed me and reached out to grab my presence. If you had not provided support I would have been drawn into his mind and I may have lost myself completely, been completely absorbed by it. I find it so….amazing, and frightening. There is such power there."

"But is he mad?" Griffen asked. "Has the sensory deprivation driven him mad?"

She shrugged. "I can't answer that. How can I judge madness? I'm not sure he's exactly sane but then who would be after being like that for so long. But that does not mean that he can't be cured. I can't say if he is mad or not, but I do not want to touch his mind again. There are too many... ghosts."

"Ghosts?" Griffen asked, battling to understand. This area of physic manipulation was too abstract for his more scientific aligned mind, but after having been so long with Kitra he had learnt to never disregard any of it.

Kitra waved a hand vaguely in front of her, grasping for the right words to use. "So many memories, so many people, all having had profound effect upon his life, and many of them recently – or at least recent in his mind's opinion. There are many...debts to be cleared. I can't explain it any better, Griffen. Just take my word for it - when Vila said that Avon was complex person, for probably the first time in his life, he wasn't exaggerating."

"Well, leave it. You've done your part now let the med unit do the rest. You need to get to bed and sleep. This has taken more out of you than we had thought. Come on, get up."

Kitra dragged herself to her feet, using the wall as support, and with Griffen ushering her along, he waited till she was settled back in her own room and sleeping, before leaving.

He made his way back to the med lab to check that all was well. The monitors showed a steady quiet rhythm for all requirements. Looking down at Avon's stern visage he said, "I hope you're worth all this trouble, and you'd better not be insane after the pain you've caused Kit. Otherwise I'll gladly kill you myself."

Turning away he left to make his way to the flight deck, not seeing a faint twitch of the eyelid.

"Are we clear, Orac?" Griffen asked, settling into the console back on the flight deck.

"Yes. I have linked the life-support chamber to the console so readouts can be obtained and progress monitored from here."

"Okay. How long before we reach Verin?"

"We will be arriving in approximately 22 hours."

"Wake us when we get there."

"Very well."

As Griffen no longer had a physical body he needed very little sleep, but this time he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in oblivion for a number of hours and rest. From this point on he had the feeling that things would never be the same again. A step had been taken that could never be reversed and he felt uneasy. He wanted to ignore these feelings so he slept.

Kitra met them at the door of the cargo hold, arms crossed over her chest, as they trooped up the ramp. "Where have you been?"

"Where have we been! Where the hell were you?" Tarrant said sharply, every long stride indicating his anger.

She shrugged as she turned away, "Had an errand to run. Come on, hurry up. I've got a job to organise still." And she moved off briskly, leaving them to follow in her wake.

As the engines were firing up already they had little choice but to follow her instructions but questions were burning in the three of them. However, once they had cleared the planet's atmosphere and moved off into deep space, they turned to her almost as one.

"So where were you?" Tarrant asked bluntly, anger still evident in his tone.

"Told you. Orac found some information and we went to check it out. We went to pick up a possible…..passenger."

"You could have told us. We could have come and helped out." Soolin put in. She didn't sound angry but there was still a slight edge to her voice.

Kitra shook her head. "Not this time."

"What's the big secret?" Vila asked, leaning back in his chair to look at her with a frown. In all the time he had been with Kitra he had never seen her trying to hide something from him and that confused him. No, it worried him.

"It's not a secret now. Come on, there's something to show you." They followed her as she lead them down to the med unit

"Why..." Tarrant began as they drew closer to the door. He didn't understand what was going on.

"Just wait," she told him, keying open the door.

As she entered she stood aside and waved them forward. With puzzled expressions they followed, hearing the door swish closed behind them, and moved further into the room, closer to the sheet draped form on the bed. When they were close enough to view the features, as one they stopped and stared.

"Avon!" Vila let out a shout of disbelief, frozen to the spot. This…this couldn't be real!

"How?" Tarrant said, turning to Kitra, with disbelief in his eyes, no less shocked. "Where did you find him?"

"Orac found where he had been kept all these years." Kitra explained briefly, not going into details. "Griffen and I went and got him."

"Then why didn't you want us along?" Tarrant felt the anger build again. Avon had been part of their group. They had a right to go along!

Kitra fixed him with a steely glance, which helped quell his anger a little, "Because he has been under sensory deprivation for the past five years, and if you don't know much about that let me enlighten you. Sensory deprivation has been a form of torture since the beginning of time. Few species can tolerate such conditions for long before going mad. Humans are the least adaptable to those conditions. Avon has undergone it for five years. Does that give you some idea of what might have been the scenario we would have found?"

"Are you saying he's insane?" Vila asked, watching the still figure warily. Avon supposedly 'sane' was scarier enough. Insane, that was just downright beyond belief!

She shrugged, "I don't know. Neither does Orac. His mind and body seem to have almost separated – not surprising under the conditions. The simplest way to think of it is there being a cord connecting the mind to the body. They severed this cord so the two have learnt to function individually. That way the body can be kept alive and the mind is still completely sentient. We have to wait and see if that connection can be made again. It may be that too much time has gone by and it will not happen."

"And if it doesn't?" Soolin asked, guessing the answer though needing the clarification.

"That is up to you," Kitra replied calmly. "But it may be a kindness to kill him."

"What..?" Vila started in shock.

Kitra turned to him, "Vila, do you call that living? If the connection cannot be reforged his mind is trapped within a body that is totally unresponsive. He is not even aware that he has a body anymore at this point, and we can't access his mind. Don't you think it would be a kindness to kill him than leave him in that state?"

Vila looked uncertain for a moment, "Why don't you talk to him? You could go into his mind," he said earnestly.

"No." was her simple firm answer, and her tone brooked no discussion on the topic as she turned away from Vila. "Come on." She motioned them back to the door to leave, "There's no point you all waiting here. Orac has linked this room up to the flight deck so we'll know whatever happens. Once we're back at base, we can get him settled properly."

"When will we know if he's going to be all right?" Tarrant asked, giving a last look at the silent figure on the bed, feeling a little queasy at what Kitra had tried to explain to them about Avon's state.

"I have no idea," was her honest reply as they left the room, making their way back to the flight deck.

"So we've just got to wait?" Vila asked, following.

"That's right," she replied as they walked. "We can't hurry this healing; if you tried you're liable to cause more problems. We just have to wait and see if Avon's mind and body can reconnect and function as one again."

"When will we know?" Vila asked.

"I'm presuming when he wakes up, yes?" Soolin put in dryly.

Kitra nodded, "Exactly. If he regains consciousness and seems normal enough then we'll know he should be fine."

"And if he doesn't wake up?" Tarrant asked the question.

Kitra looked over her shoulder, face completely blank. "Then you'll need to decide who's going to pull the trigger."

She left the three of them standing frozen there in the corridor as she disappeared behind the closing door.


End file.
